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HAND-BOOK 



OF 



VIRGINIA. 



FIFTH EDITION. 



BY THEi> 

COMMISSIONER OF !;AGRICnLTURE. 



RICHMONp, VA.: 

JOHNS & CO., BOOK^AND JOB PRINTERS, 

1886/ 



HAND-BOOK 






■k'i^ 



VIRGINIA, p, 



Cua/\^(u*2tZu\&^'-. 



FIFTH EDITION. 



BY THE 

COMMISSIONER Of AGRTCULTimE. 



RICHMOND, VA.: 

JOHNS & CO., BOOK AND JOB PRINTERS, 

1886. 



rs6> 



COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA, 

Department of Agriculture, 

Richmond, 1886. 

To Eis Excellency Fitzhugh Lee, 

Governor of Virginia : 

Sir; 

I have the honor to present to you a Hand-Book of "Virginia, fifth edition, 
revised and enlarged, with maps. 

Very Respectfully and obediently yours, 

RANDOLPH HARRISON, 

Com'r of Agriculture. 






IlsrDEX 



PAGE 

Accomac 19 

Albemarle 89 

Alexandria 53 

Alleghany 161 

Amelia 54 

Amherst 93 

Appalachla . 155 

Appalachia by counties 161 

Appomattox 56 

Asbestos and steatite 178 

Augusta 119 

Baryta n9 

Bath 162 

Bedford 94 

Bland 163 

Blue Ridge Division 148 

Botetourt 122 

Branches taught in public schools 189 

Brunswick 5T 

Buchanan 165 

I Buckingham 57 

I Building stones , 179 

Campbell 59 

Caroline 21 

Carroll 152 

Charlotte 61 

Charles City 22 

Chesterfield 62 

Clarke 125 

Coal 176 

Counties of Piedmont 88 

Counties of the Valley 118 

County and city superintendents of schools. 186 

County school boards 188 

County and city superintendents of schools. 190 

Copper 177 

Cost of the Free School System for all pui-- 

poses for the year 198 

Craig 166 

Culpeper 96 

Cumberland 64 

Dickenson 167 

Dinwiddle 66 

Elizabeth City 22 

Essex , 23 

Fairfax 67 

^auquler 97 

vd 151 

^nna 63 

TOWth 49 

98 

126 

12 

153 

167 

23 

1 177 

69 

■\rd8 86 

11 

99 

\ 



PAGE 

Halifax 72 

Hanover 25 

Health 17 

Healthfulness 61 

Henrico 26 

Henry 99 

Highland 168 

Immigration 86 

Iron ores 175 

Isleof Wight 28 

JamesCity 29 

Kaolin 178 

King and Queen 30 

King George 31 

King William 31 

Lancaster 32 

Lead 177 

Lee 169 

Lime and cement 178 

Live stock on farms 181 

Loudoun 101 

Louisa 74 

Lunenburg T5 

Madison 102 

Marl 12 

Marl 179 

Manganese 177 

Mathews 33 

Mecklenburg 76 

Mica and plumbago 178 

Middlesex 34 

Middle Virginia 47 

Middle Virginia by counties 52 

Minerals 49 

Mineral Wealth of Virginia 175 

Nansemond 34 

Navigable waters 12 

Nelson 104 

New Kent 35 

Norfolk 35 

Northampton no 

Northumoerland 39 

Nottoway 77 

Orange .....106 

Page 12a 

Patrick iu7 

Peculiarities and advantages of the Pied- 
moat Division as a health resort 86 

Piedmont Division 84 

Pittsylvania 77 

Plaster (gypsum) 178 

Powhatan 78 

Princess Anne 40 

Prince George 40 

PrinceEdward 80 

Prince William 81 

Railroads 50 

Hallways 85 

Rappaiiannock 108 

Richmond , 41 

Salt 178 

School districts 187 



INDEX. 



PAGB 

School population ||^ 

Bchool taxes i°2 

School houses l^^ 

Scott "i, 

Shenandoah ^*" 

Sheep and horses ]] 

Smyth If^ 

Soils and crops ^" 

Southampton *^ 

Spotsylvania "^ 

Stafford ,°^ 

State board of education i^» 

Sulphuretof Iron (pyrites) "9 

Superintendent of public Instruction i«8 

Surry • ;;:;.:::: tl 

Synopsis or generai'review of Virginia 9 

Tazewell t*^ 

Teachers :}°* 

Teachers i?^? 

Text books ^°^ 



PAGB 

Textbooks '?J 

The Eastern Shore Peninsula i» 

The first free schools i»» 

The Shenandoah Valley il" 

Tidewater Division |" 

Tidewater Division by counties i» 

Timber 

Timber' resources of Virginia IJ^ 

Tin 1'' 

Tobacco culture ||^ 

Trustees i°' 

Warren 

Warwick' ,^ 

Washington "f 

Water ^j. 

Westmoreland ,*° 

Wise 1'^ 

Wvthe ^^* 

York ... *" 

^""^ 177 

Zinc 1'' 



PREFACE TO THE FIFTH EDITION. 



The edition of this book published last year wai speedily exhausted, and still 
the applications for copies are frequent. As long as there were any disposable 
they were sent in response to such requests as were considered reasonable — a 
preference being given to persons outside of the State, or to those of our citizens 
who wanted to send them abroad. They were put forth in faith, just as the 
merchant advertises his goods. He who fails to advertise freely now-a-days " gets 
left in the cold"; the stream of business passes him by and flows to others who 
set forth clearly the attractions they have to offer. The people of the great 
Northwest have acted upon this principle and have attracted immigration and 
capital to their respective States by a system of advertising such as the world has 
never seen before. The time will come when Virginia will pursue the same 
policy — will make a liberal venture and receive a rich return. Meanwhile we 
must do what we can, and make a modest venture, if we cannot afford more. So, 
moving in the track indicated by the Legislature in the bill creating the Depart- 
ment, I publish another edition of the Hand-Book, hoping that its truthful, though 
brief and impartial, description of Virginia may be the means of inducing many 
worthy people seeking homes to come and examine this most inviting field for 
immigrants. 

Every effort has been made to correct errors in the previous editions, and to in- 
corporate all improvements of a general character and interest in the descriptions 
of sections and counties. All new lines of railroad have been traced in the map 
accompanying the Hand-Book, and many corrections made. Of course many 
and great imperfections will remain, and will be discovered by the critical reader, 
throughout the book, but they are there in spite of painstaking efforts to discover 
and amend them. 

That no part of- the State should be neglected in this attempt to set forth its 
advantages and attractions, the aid of about three hundred of our leading citizens 
was invoked. A circular was prepared and sent to several correspondents in each 
county (and also published in nearly every paper in the State, all of which, I 
gratefully acknowledge, gave it gratuitous insertion) requesting, in substance, a 
concise statement of any attractions or advantages overlooked in the last descrip- 
tion, or improvements added since, with which the respective counties should be 
credited. Tha number of responses was larger than expected— very much larger 
than on the occasion of the last issue of the Hand-Book, when a similar call was 
made. The thanks, not only of the Commissioner, but of all the people of the 
State, are due to the public-spirited gentlemen who have furnished papers descrip- 
tive of their counties. I thought of making an open acknowledgment, crediting 
each county with the name or names of the gentlemen who had taken the trouble 
to act as topographers, but was deterred by the reflection that it might not be 



8 PREFACE. 

concise description of said county — soil, climate, products to which it seemed best 
suited — its resources of all kinds, as minerals, timber, water-power, &c. — its ad- 
vantages and attractions, including accessibility to marliet — all these items of in- 
formation for tlie guidance of intending settlers I hoped to get from the fountain 
heads in every quarter of tlie State. 

But the responses have been few — instead of the valuable descriptive paper 
asked for from each county, I have received at the rate of one from each ten. To 
those correspondents who complied with my request, I beg leave to return grate- 
ful acknowledgments, and to the many who did not, as well as to the public, I 
would express my regrets tliat a so meagre description of not a few counties had 
to be given — tliat they are not credited with various improvements, which have 
been made in the last year or two, and whicli are brightening their prospects and 
making them more attractive. 

The papers descriptive of the Piedmont division and the Northern half of the 
Valley, from Botetourt to Jefferson and Berkeley, were contributed by Captain 
Richard Irby, general agent of the *' Bureau of Immigration," and tlie papers 
upon the Southern lialf of the Valley, "Blue Eidge," and "Appalachia," are the 
work of Capt. C. R. Boyd, of AVytheville. To those who know these gentlemen 
it is unnecessary that I should speak of their marked fitness for giving a graphic 
description of the resources of tliese sections of the State, with which they are, 
perhaps, more familiar than I am with the Eastern division. 

RANDOLPH HARRISON, Commission&r . 




I 



OR 

BRIEF GENERAL REVIEW^ 

OF 



VIRGINIA. 



Virginia — wiiat is left since the excision of West Virginia— lies between the 
parallels of 36° 21' and 39° 27^ N., and contains an area variously estimated afc 
from 38,000 to 45,000 square miles. The designation " Keystone State " would 
be more appropriate to Virginia than to Pennsylvania, seeing that it is the one of 
the original thirteen States which occupies just that position — " keystone " of the 
arch in the grand sweep or curve of the coast from the Bay of Fundj' to Florida. 
According to the classification of Maury and Guyot, it is the southernmost of the 
"Middle Atlantic" States. Hotchkiss, in his "Summary," says : ''Virginia, as 
a whole, lies in the region of 'middle latitudes,' giving it a climate of 'means,' 
between the extremes of heat and cold incident to States south and north of it." 
Dr. M. G. EUzey, of Washington, D, C, well says : " The geographical position 
and physical features of Virginia are eminently favorable to a salubrious air and 
delightful climate, equally removed from extremes of heat and cold." 

The often-quoted expression of Captain John Smith, " Heaven and earth never 
agreed better to frame a place for mad's habitation," shows the estimation ill 
which Virginia was held by the early settlers. 

In 1858, the Hon. Caleb Gushing, of Massachusetts, in an address delivered in 
Richmond, declared his belief that " without disparagement to other parts of the 
Union, the belt of country subtended by the Chesapeake Bay, and extending in- 
definitely westward, possessed the climate and other conditions most favorable to 
the highest development of man and the horse, the noblest of the animal crea- 
tion." While this may well be considered somewhat in the light of a compliment- 
ary exageration, for we bold that this imaginary belt should be considerably 
broadened, north and south, yet it is probable that the central zone of the most 
favored climate lies within the limits marked out. Indeed, the truth of the utter- 
ance with regard to the horse — defining the region where he reaches the highest 
degree of perfection — seems now to be established beyond cavil by the conceded 



) 

10 HAND-BOOK OF YIRGINIA. 

preeminence of Kentucky, which has tak«(n the place once held by v , 

" race-horse region," and moreover is surpassing all other States in breeding 

horses for trotting and for all general purposes. 

It is affirmed also that men there aftain greater stature than anywhere else on 
the continent. ' 

Even if this claim be regarded as untenable, it cannot be denied that the region 
in question is highly favored bj^. nature. 

Going from the lowlands of Virginia westward we pass from the warm alluvial 
districts of "Tidewater," which are tempered by the influence of the Gulf Stream, 
through the more elevated .I'egion of "Middle " Virginia and "Piedmont," across 
the " Blue Ridge " into the ^reat limestone formation of the " Valley "—thence into 
" Trans- Alleghany " or '' Appalachia," which is also a limestone region, in part, 
the difference of elevation, geological formation, distance from the sea, Ac, giv- 
ing an almost unlimited choice of industrial pursuits. 

For more convenient reference and examination by any who are thinking of 
settling or prospecting in Virginia, a short description of the State is here given 
by grand divisions, each with the counties composing it. These are taken in the 
order indicated above, from east to west, viz ; 

Area.— Square Miles. 

Tidewater Virginia 11,350 

Middle Virginia 12,470 

Piedmont Virginia 6,680 

The Valley 7,550 

The Blue Ridge 1,230 

Appalachia 5,720 

45,000 
See Map. 

THE TIDEWATER DIVISION". 

The first of these, "Tidewater," is an alluvial region, rising from the sands that 
skirt the ocean, the " post- tertiary " formation, to the low plains nearest the 
Chesapeake Bay, the " pliocene " — then to the " middle tertiary," the " miocene " 
— the strip of country extending, as ascertained by Rogers and Ruffin, to a line 
passing through Mathias Point on the Potomac and Coggiu's Point on James 
river, near City Point — there we strike the " eocene " or "lower tertiary," a for- 
mation underlying the others, and coming next in age and elevation to the arch- 
sean formation of the "middle division," which it joins in its western boundary 
at the head of tide. 

SOILS AND CROPS. 

The soils of this division are, in general, light, warm, easily tilled — and favored 
to this end with a semi-tropical climate, are, "par excellence," garden soils— 
admirably adapted to raising early vegetables for the great markets of the North- 
ern cities. This is especially the character of the Eastern Shore, the Norfolk and 
|)arts of the Hampton and Gloucester peninsulas. In a more restricted sense 
this description of the soil is applicable to the greater part of Tidewater. The 
land is "kind" and easily worked — an important factor in estimating the valne 
of land, as every practical farmer knows. The late Gov. H. A. Wise used to say 
ol the lands of the Eastern Shore that they were more profirable than ot her soils 
which would make twice as much per acre, because, in the first, " a man and a 
mule could, thanks to the easy tillage and greater surface he could work, make 



H ">-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 11 

lANL 

jnore crop on the light I. >an on the strong— and in this country, where land 

is abundant and cheap, [ s the element most to be considered." 

The products of this '"^ ?''^" are very varied, and can be further diversified to 
, . ,-.,., beds of \ 
an almost unlimited ex 

Cotton is grown with it in several counties. Peanuts, the finest pro, 

ducecl anywhere, Coru \ , flourish everywhere. Wheat of the very best 
'O'lniR P3.i 

quality, and grass, except ' , e soil is too light for these crops, as is the case 

un for 
with some of the most vaUu^ . ds. 

Tobacco is cultivated to a \ "".^'"^all extent in some of the Tidewater counties. 
In colonial times it was the st; lot only the money crop, but the currency of 

the colony; and the reputatio . irginia tobacco was built upon the product of 
the Tidewater section. The t( > grown at " Yarina," on James river, had an 

especial reputation, and the .- of the place is said to have been given it 

because the quality of the tobacco there grown resembled that of " Varinas" in 
Cuba. 

There is no doubt that excellent tobacco can be — has 6e«n— grown in every 
county in this section ; and probably in every one in the State. The prevailing 
practice, however, seems to indicate that in many localities other crops have been 
found more profitable— lience the culture of tobacco has been abandoned in 
county after county, so that there are many persons who have never seen the 
plant growing. 

But now the fashions are changing — new kinds of tobacco in demand, as, for 
".e, "■ Sumatra," which is being largely imported for cigar-wrappers — some 
fine, high priced variety may be found which will suit this country and be profita- 
ble here ; and Lower Virginia may regain her reputation for " sweet-scented " or 
highly flavored tobacco. 

The prediction "that Tidewater Virginia may regain her reputation for fine 
tobacco " is already in a fair way to be fulfilled. J. E. Booker, Esq., of the 
Suffolk Herald^ has kindly sent me a sample of bright flue-cured tobacco, of the 
present year's growth, from a crop of nine acres made by Mr. J. J. Deyer, of 
Handsom's, Southampton county. The sample has been shown to several ex- 
perts and was pronounced very fine. I believe the section where that sample was 
grown could enter the list against Granville county, North Carolina, or any other 
celebrated bright tobacco region, and with equal skill in management could hold 
its own against the best. 

SHEEP AND HORSES. 

This country is well adapted to sheep. The earliest lambs, and some of the 
finest in the State, are raised here, and have been shipped to New York with 
great profio. 

Fifty years ago the finest blooded horses of America were bred here in the 
western counties of "Tidewater," and the adjoining counties of the "Middle 
Division." This was called the "race-horse region," and it was long supposed 
that nowhere else could this class of horse be raised in equal perfection. 

OBASS. 

This claim, and the one ju?t preceding, that Eastern Virginia is a good sheep- 
raising region, may seem strange in view of the fact that it is commonly consid- 
ered the very reverse of a " grass country " ; but the native grasses, as wire grass, 
crab grass, and blue grass (poa compressa), are very nutritious. 

Moreover, one of the results of the late war was to show that timothy, orchard 



12 HAND-BOOK OF VIRf V. 

and other grasses, previously supposed to be ill-suu > the country, would grow 

luxuriantly under proper conditions. Even old re s were surprised to find 

timothy, &c., growing in perfection where horsey' n picketed and fed upon 

Northern hay ; and there is no longer any doub/ . the very finest, can be 

grown here. Some of the best that comes to tK^ ^wd market is made upon 
the James river between Richmond and Norf^ 

FRUITS. ' ' 

This is a fine fruit country. Apples, pea^' pes and small fruits grow in 

great perfection. The peach is not a sure cro he greater part of this country. 

TIMBER. 

This region is well wooded, as indeed is all of Virginia, the growth varying 
greatly with the geological and climatic dilTt'rences referred to above. In the 
Tidewater division we find abundance of the finest pine, cypress, juniper, white 
and other oaks, ash, maple, gum, locust, cedar, holly, dogwood, hickory — some 
walnut, sycamore, persimmon — and many other trees of minor importance. In 
some of the lower counties are large quantities of fine chestnut timber. All along 
the banks of some of the rivers we find the white mulberry — the " morus alba '" — 
growing in great profusion, oftering an inviting fit Id for silk raising. This tree 
was introduced from Europe by Gov. Digges, one of the colonial gorernors, aud 
has made itself at home along James river and its lower tributaries, flourishing 
and propagating itself as if indigenous. 

NAVIGABLE WATERS. 

Various writers have commented on the number of the navigable streams which 
indent this portion of the State. One of the oldest of them, in closing a descrip- 
tion, says : " So that no country in the world can be more curiously watered ; but 
this conveniency, that in future times may make her like the Netherlands, the 
richest pli.ce in all America, at the present I look on as the greatest impediment 
to the advance of the country, as it is the greatest obstacle to trade and com- 
merce. For the great number of rivers and the thinness of the inhabitants dis- 
tract and disperse a trade. So that all ships in general gather each their loading 
up and down an hundred miles distant. This (i. e., the number of rivers) is one 
of the chit'f reasons why they have no towns," &c. 

The same remark has been made by Mr. Jeft'erson and others, and explains 
why Virginia cities have been of such slow growth until recently — since water 
transportation is no kmger paramount. 

Admitting the disadvantage in this respect, there are many counterbalancing 
advantages. This is a country of abundance— the rivers yield the finest fish, 
oysters, wild fowl ; and, as remarked by Dr. Pollard, " the numerous creeks in- 
denting tills country furnish the cheapest and readiest means for a commerce 
which comes home to the abodes of the rural inhabitants, while the ravines and 
river cliflfs, washed by the tides, disclose the rich marls which are destined to be- 
stow the highest rewards upon its enterprise by spreading fertility and wealth 
upon the farmers who use them." 

MARL. 

To speak of the geology of this country is to give a description of the wealth of 
marl underlying it — the whole region from the ocean to the head of tide proba- 



HAND-]SOOK OF VIRGINIA. 13 

bly resting upon beds of marl at greater or less depth. There are, as far as is 
known, no minerals here possessing value other than in an agricultural point of 
view, except the ochre beds of Chesterfield county, near Bermuda Huiidred. The 
small deposits of iron ore occasionally found in the marl beds, or bog ore near the 
streams, do not constitute an exception worth speaking of. But the agricultural 
value of the marls of "Virginia cannot well be overestimated — exhaustless stores 
of fertilizing material laid up for the future — they will some day make the allu- 
vial region of Virginia the Belgium of America. A full description of the geo- 
logical formation of this alluvial region would not be interesting to the unscien- 
tific reader, but it may be well to call attention to the difference between the 
marls of the more recent formations, the pliocene and miocene, which derive their 
value mainly from the carbonate of lime which they contain, and the green sands 
and olive earths which are found in the eocene in conjunction with the shell or 
calcareous marl. (Green sand is sometimes found mixed with the marl of the 
miocene region.) 

The region of eocene marls extends from the falls of the rivers eastward fifteen 
to twenty miles. Miocene marl is often found overlying the eocene, and is easily 
recognized by the difference in the shells which it contains — scallops and others 
not found in the eocene. Beneath this (Professor Rogers, quoted by Dr. Pollard, 
says), and usually separated from it by a thin line of "black pebbles,"* like those 
occurring on the Pamunkey, there occurs a stratum of greenish, red and yellow 
aspect, containing much green sand and gypsum, the latter partly disseminated 
in small grains, and partly grouped in large crystals. 1'he under stratum, rich 
in green sand and containing a few shells in friable condition, extends to some 
depth below the level of the river. At "Evergreen" the whole thickness of the 
deposit appears to be about twenty feet. 

This was said of the James river formation, but will apply as a general descrip- 
tion to the deposits of the Pamunkey, Mattaponi, Rappahannock and Potomac, 
as Professor Rogers says " eocene marl is there found very similar to that on the 
Jrtmes. On the Mattaponi the occurrence of green sand strata has been ascer- 
tained in some places, while in others the beds containing the substance have been 
replaced by beds of clay, which are lets likely to prove valuable agriculturally. 
The olive earth overlying some of these beds, particularly on the Pamunkey, 
seems to have lost some of the carbonate of lime which it once contained, and has 
but a small portion of gypsum." (See report of Dr. Ledoux, p. 10.) 

Much has been said of the wonderful change wrought in the lands of New Jer- 
sey by the use of the green-sand marl found in tlie eocene formation in that State, 
and I cannot do better than quote Dr. Pollard's remarks and citations at second 
hand from Prof. 11. D. Rogers' report on the Geology of New Jersey, differing 
with him as to the "valuable constituents" of the green sand, to which its mar- 
vellous ( ffects are due. 

"Of the agricultural value of eocene marl there can be no doubt. It has been 
used with great success in New Jersey, and very profitably on the James and 
Pamunkey in Virginia. For some time beds containing a portion of carbonate of 
lime (shells) and gypsum were sought after, particularly on the Pamunkey, to the 
negkct of the underlying green sand. Afterwai-ds the green sand was learned to 
be appreciated. On "Turkey Island Creek," in Henrico, deposits were found 
almost void of shells, which have been used to great advantage, particularly in 
promoting the growth of clover, and secondarily of the cereals. The effect of 

• NoTK.— These " black pebbles" are no doubt " coprolltes," rich In phosphoric add. See report 
of Dr. Ledoux, on p. 10. 



14 HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 

green sand is very permanent as well as very efficacious from the beginning. In 
New Jersey it has been used in almost unmixed condition for many years, and is 
highly prized as a fertilizer. Tliere, it is said, as small an application as ten or 
fifteen busliels to an acre is uniformly attended with most excellent elTects, whether 
the soil be clay or a light sterile sand. Prof. Kogers quotes the following from his 
brother Henry D. Rogers' report on the Geology of New Jersey : " When we 
behold a luxuriant harvest gathered from fields where the soil was nothing origi- 
nally but sand, and find it all due to the use of a mineral sparsely disseminated 
in the sandy beach, we must look with exulting admiration upon the benefits to 
vegetation conferred by a few scattered granules of this unique and peculiar sub- 
stance. The small amount of green sand dispersed through the common sand is 
able, as we behold, to eftect immeasurable benefits in spite of the great prepon- 
derance of other material, which we are taught to regard as, by itself, prejudicial 
generally to fertility. This ought to exhibit an encouraging picture to those dis- 
tricts not directly within the limits of the marl tract, where some of the sfrata 
contain the green substance in sensible proportion. It expands most materially 
the limits of the territory where marling may be introduced, and points to many 
beds as fertilizing which would otherwise be deemed wholly inefficacious." 

The dark, greenish clays and sands in this region have sometimes been mis- 
taken for green sand. These clays are destitute of fossils, and have an astringent 
or copperas fiavor, and generally a strong sulphurous odor, though a slight sul- 
phur odor is sometimes discovered in the best marls. Small shells, well decom- 
posed, are often found sparsely distributed through these eocene marls, though 
an almost total absence of shells is sometimes observed in some of the best of 
them, as, for instance, thoie of Turkey Island creek in Henrico. Fine, ^;parkling 
scales of mica have been mistaken in these deposits for gypsum. The kinds of 
shell often found in the miocene and eocene marls serve to distinguish them when 
there is any doubt about the classification of the variety of marl. The saddle- 
shaped oyster is found in the eocene or green sand marls, and not in the miocene 
or shell marls ; and the common scallop or clam is found in the latter, and not in 
the former. 

The eocene marls have been extensively used in the past, and some are using 
them now, but to a limited extent generally ; and the same remarks are applica- 
ble to the miocene. If is to be hoped that their use will be resumed generally, as 
where the deposits are accessible and of good quality there can be no doubt of 
the value of their application ; and this particularly refers to the green sand va- 
riety. "Where theie latter deposits exist on the rivers, it would no doubt be pro- 
fitable to transport to farms up and down the rivers, and probably over railroads 
for short distances where the roads touch the rivers. Formerly these marls were 
boated up and down the rivers in lighters, particularly on James river. As the 
condition of affairs improves, and farmers acquire more means, they will no 
doubt find it much to their advantage to use these marls to increase the fertility 
of their lands. 

Where these marls coexist some of the effects are of course due to the lime and 
some to potash m the green sand, but where the latter exists in good proportion 
the influence is no doubt due more to the green sand than the lime. Sulphate 
of lime (gypsum) existing in many of the eocene marl deposits, no doubt on some 
soils exerts a beneficial effect. 

Note. — It was long supposed that to the potash contained in green sand marls 
was due their great value in restoring wornout lands, and it is not surprising that 
Dr. Pollard, the first Commissioner of Agriculture in this State, active in ac- 



HAND-BOOK OF VIEGINIA. 15 

quiring knowledge as he was zealous in disseminating it, should have been of that 
opinion. But that the principal value of green sand is attributable to its phos- 
phoric acid seems to be clearly proven by Prof. Geo. H. Cook, LL. D., State 
Geologist of New Jersey. I give his conclusions as of the very highest authority. 

GREEN SAND MABLS. 

" Green sand marls have been of inestimable value and influence in improving 
New Jersey agriculture They have been the means of restoring large districts 
of wornout land to fertility ; they have improved the texture and productiveness 
of lands naturally too light to be otherwise worth cultivation. They continue to 
be used in large qu mtitiei?, and constitute a valuable low priced fertilizer — very 
desirable where the cost of transportation is not too great. 

Phosphoric acid is in all the green sand marls, and is in combination with lime 
or iron, forming phosphate of lime or phosphate of iron. It is not a part of the 
marl grains, but is mixed through the mass of them, in fine powder or in small, 
light green and very soft grains. It is insoluble in water, but in good form to 
dissolve in the soil. It is in very variable quantities in the marls from different 
beds, and in marls from different depths in the same bed there are considerable 
differences in the percentages of this substance. Some of the best marls which 
are sold contain 3 to 4 per cent, of phosphoric acid, while there are others sold 
which do not contain more than a half of 1 per cent, of this acid. Potash is a 
constituent of the grains of green sand marl, and makes from 5 to 7 per cent, of 
its weight. It is in combination with silica and silicates of iron, alumina and mag- 
nesia. It is quite insoluble in water, and though it may be soluble in some other 
substances, it is not more likely to be dissolved than the other mineral substances 
in the soil, for example, than feldspar or glass. We have no evidence that it is of 
any effect in growing crops, and we cannot assign any price to it. It should be 
of value in composts, and there is some reason to believe that the action of quick- 
lime or of fermenting manures will liberate and make soluble some of the potash. 
Carbonate of lime, in fine powder, is found in some of the green sand marls, but 
not in all of them. Samples have been analyzed which contain 20 per cent, of this 
substance, while many others are found which do not contain any. Small quan- 
tities of sulphate of lime and sulphate of iron may also be found in some of the 
marl. 

The experience of the farmers who use marl, and the chemical tests which have 
been applied to the marls which they approve, and also to those which they do not 
value, have led to the following conclusions : 

1. That marls containing the most phosphoric acid are the ones which are most 
highly esteemed by farmers. 

2. That marls containing carbonate of lime in fine powder, besides any shells 
that may be in them, are the best and most lasting fertilizers, though they must 
be used in large quantities. 

3. That marls consisting of pure grains of green sand, though containing their 
full percentage of potash, are frequently without any fertilizing action, and their 
effects are not very well marked in any cases. 

Accepting these conclusions as being up to the present state of our knowledge, 
we have not thought it of use to analyze the samples sent in this year for any- 
thing quantitatively but phosphoric acid and corbonate of lime, and qualitatively 
for sulphate of iron." 



16 



HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 



20)0 
2G1 
2G5 
26(5 
275 
276 



From Wiioisl Samples were Keoeived. 



Edward Conover, Mapleton, N. J., (light, grepn) 

Edward Conover, MiipU'ton, N. J., (dark orrconj 

Charlos F. Tioo, Williamstown, Marshall's Pits, (blue) 

Charles F. Tiee, "Williatnstown, Marshall Tits 

West Jersey Marl Co., McFailand Fiirm (ijreen) 

West Jersey Marl Co., Ware's Pits (green) 



®2 



1.01 
1.38 
1 54 
0.70 
1.(19 
1.12 






50.19 
50.61 



The above was quoted in full because it will apply equally well, I think, to the 
green sands of Virginia as to those of New Jersey. 

I have before me a copy of an exhaustive report made by Dr. Ledoux, a distin- 
guished chemist of New^ York, upon certain marl-beds on the Pamunkey, which 
he carefuUj' examined and from which he took samples in various places for the 
determination of the percentage of phosphoric acid and potash. 

Phosphoric Acid. Potash. 

In one sample of green sand he found .....9.9',) per cent. 2.72 per cent. 

In another 1.37 " 1.32 " 

In "olive earth" G.40 " 0.53 " 

Another sample 7.76 " 0.53 " 

" Between the olive earth and the green sand is a singular deposit, varying from 
one to six inches in width (qn. depth? C. A ) and appearing everywhere at the 
juncture between the two formations. It consists principally of well-preserved 
bones, shark's teeth and other fossils, witli a multitude of small nodules varying 
in size from that of a pea up to a circumference of three inches. These nodules 
arc very rich in phosphoric acid, and in my opinion nothing more or less than 
coprolities. 

The great diversity in the composition of the two samples of green sand analyzed 
is very striking, one containing nearly 10 per cent, of phosphoric acid, and the 
other only 1.37 per cent. Even this is a larger percentage than was given by Dr. 
Gascoyne in the laboratory of this Department. Samples of the ditVerent de^ 
posits were brought from the same locality and carefully tested hero, and the 

green sand (the best) showed only 1.01 per cent. phos. acid. 

The olive earth 2.G4 " " 

Coprolities 23.47 '* " 

Bones from rich streak 34.29 " " 

The samples analyzed here may have been taken from the outer edge of the 
deposit, where it has been exposed and weathered so as to lose some of the phos- 
phoric acid. Even the smaller percentage shown, liowever, is enough to account 
for the great and lasting ettects which have resulted from the use of this fertilizer. 
It will be observed that the average of the six samples analyzed b}' Prof. Cook is 
phosphoric acid, 1.14 per cent., so that if the samples gotten by Prof. Ledoux 
were not far better than the average, Virginia green sand is much richer in phos- 
phoric acid than the New Jersey. 

The '^coprolites" are evidently the "black pebbles" of Prof. Rogers, above- 



HAND-IU)OK OF VIRGINIA. 17 

referred to. If tlieso and the other fossil roinahis in the 'Tich Bticak " could be 
found in large quantities and in an acc-essibl« place they wo\iM prove a mine of 
wealth to the owner of tlie deposit. Thorougli investigation is needed. 

HEALTH. 

An idea has Bomcliow f^ained cnrrcney that the Tidewater rof^ion of Vir<?inia is 
an exceedin/fly uniiealtliy country. It is conceded to be very dcHiraJ)!*! in other 
respects, but tlie four of "Malaria" keeps away many vviio otherwise would 
gladly f^ettle there. 

That ajjue and fever prevails In some sections, it is idle to deny. Other locali- 
ties in tlie Tidewater region are free from m.ilarial diseases, and there is a remark- 
able imminiity from fevers of a typlioid character. I agree with tlie late Dr. Pol- 
lard in tliiiiliiiig that "if tii(! fact couhl be known, t)o more mortality and as 
much longevity would be found in Tidewater as in the mountainous regions of 
Virginia." 

RAILROADS, 

This country, already blessed with exceptional facilities of transportation by 
water, as has been sliown, is now penetrated m various directions l)y railroads, 
«pcuring quick carriage of vegetables, fruits, and other perisliable commodities to 
the great markets of the uortliern cities. The Now York, Philadelphia and Nor- 
folk railroad now runs tlwough almost the entire length of the Eastern Shore Penin- 
sula, bringing not only tliat sliore but the counties tributary to Norfolk and New- 
port News in close communication with Philadelpiiia and New York. 

On tlie Soiithside the Norfolk and Carolina, connecting Norfolk with Edenton, 
the Norfolk and Western witli its brancli from Petersburg to City Point, tlie Sea- 
board and Roanoke, the Atlantic and Danville, wliicli last has jccentiy been ex- 
tejided from deep water at Claremont, on .lames river, in Surry county, in a 
southwest course tlirough the Tidewater counties of Surry and Sussex, into Mid- 
dle Virginia; these, with several shorter roads — the Surry, Sussex and South- 
ampton, tlie Suffolk and North Carolina, the roads from Norfolk to "Virginia 
Beach " and " Ocean View," intersect the Tidewater division south of .James river. 
On the north we have the Chesapeake and Ohio penetrating tiie Peninsula from 
Richmond to Hampton Roads, and the York liive^r road from lUclimond to West 
Point at the head of York river, and a road (tlie Richmond and Cliesapealve) has 
been surveyed from the capitol to the Chesapeake B ly near the moutli of the 
Potomac. The settler in search of a home easy of access can surely find it here, 
and with it cheap lands, easily cultivated— cheap living, an onlerly, industrious, 
and in many sections an exceedingly thrifty population, ready to welcome the 
honest immigrant who will make his home among tlicm. 

This last assertion is equally true of all other parts of the State. 



18 HAND-BOOK OP VIRGINIA.. 



TIDEWATER VIRGINIA BY COUNTIES. 



GROUPING IN NATURAL SUB-DIVISIONS. COUNTIES^ 

(King George. 
Westmoreland* 
Richmond. 
I Northumberland. 
I. Lancaster. 

The second, or Middlesex Peninsula | Middk-sex. 

{King: <fc Queen. 
Mathews. 
Gloucester. 

Kinff William. 

! Hanover. 
New Kent. 
Yo™k.^ ^''^* 
I Warwick. 
(^ Elizabeth City. 

The sixth— Richmond or Chickahominy Peninsula { Charles City. 

f Prince George. 
I Wurry. 

The seventh, or Southside Peninsula -j Southampton. 

I Isle of Wight. 
l,Nansemond. 

The eighth, or Norfolk Peninsula { Princess Anne. 

The ninth peninsula — "The Eastern Shore " -... { j^orthampton. 

In the following brief description of each county they are taken in alphabetical 
order, except the flrst two, wliich are so much alike in soil, climate and population 
that Northampton follows Accomack, much of what is said of one being equally 
applicable to the other. 



HAND- BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 19* 



THE EASTERN SHORE PENLNSULA. 



ACCOMACK 

m the northernmost of the two counties belonging to Virginia on the " Eastern 
Shore" Peninsula. It contains 245,314 acres of land; valuation, $1,875,616; 
value of town lots, $83,000, and a population of white, 15,015 ; colored, 9,393 ; 
total, 24,408 — is about 40 miles long, with an average width of ten miles, the At- 
lantic Ocean bounding it on the east and the Chesapeake Bay on the west. There 
are numerous arms and inlets from both, extending into the main, and a chain of 
islands on the ocean side acting as breakwaters to the higher lands. The salt air 
from the surrounding sea, and the high temperature of the gulf-stream make the 
climate milder and less liable to frost than other localities much further souths 
Until recently, communication with market was by steamboat and sailing vessels 
only (a line line of steamers plies regularly between this county and Baltimore) — in 
this way the staple crops, the sweet and Irish potatoes, the onions, peas, cabbages 
and other vegetables, and the small fruits were sent to the markets of Baltimore, 
Philadelphia and New York, bringing an annual return to the producers of a 
million and a half of dollars. 

In addition to these facilities, the building of the New York, Philadelphia and 
Norfolk railway from Delinar on the dividing line between the States of Delaware 
and Maryland to "■Cape Charles City," near the mouth of Chesapeake Bay, and 
thence making the city of Norfolk by a line of fast and elegant steamers, com- 
pletes the chain of the great short line. North and South, and lessens the time of 
transit some ten hours between New York and points South, and puts the truckers 
and fruit-growers of this Peninsula in close communication with New York and 
Philadelphia. The road is admirably located along the central line of this county 
and Northampton, almost an air-line, with a maximum grade of less than ten feet, 
first-class steel rails and an tquipment unsurpassed. 

The soil of this section is a light sandy loam, warm and easily tilled; the sub- 
soil is red clay. Corn and oats were long the staple crops of the Eastern Shore ; 
but with the unsurpas^^ed facilities for marketing small fruits and vegetables, the 
latter industry has come to be the principal one. This region will soon become 
one of the principal market gardens for the great cities of the North. The cli- 
mate is pleasant and salubrious, the salt air being wafted over the Peninsula from 
almost every point of the compuss. 

A correspondent writes August, 1886: "No county of the State has improved 
more rapidly than this within the last two years. The revolution began with the 
building of the New York, Philadelphia and Norfolk Railroad (referred to above) 
and is quietly but rapidly and suiely working out its destiny, which is to be the 
vegetable, fruit, fish and shell-fish supplying section for the great cities of the 
country. 



20 HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 

This close communication lias brought its superior points of climate, soil, location 
and shipping facilities to the notice of tlie eastern, western and northern people, 
who are taking advantage of them beyond tho expectation of the most sanguine; 
by them new ideas have been advanced and economic methods suggested, which 
have beon generally adopted by the old residents and found useful and profitable. 
The crops tliis year have biought good prices, strawberries paid both this and last 
year four hundred dollars per acre; white or Irish potatoes and groen peas one 
liundred, and other vegetable crops, so far as tried, have given very satisfactory 
returns. The peach will shortlj' be the fruit crop that will receive the most at- 
tention. Experienced Delaware growers, who have undertaken it here, are much 
pleased witli the out look and predict tliat its ultimate out come will surpass that 
of the Maryland and Delaware peach belt now so favorably known throughout 
tlie country. 

It may bo added that no section of the State has as clieap or better transporta- 
tion, it being supplied by strong competing companies by land and by water." 

The brief description here given of Accomack is applicable in every particular, 
except that the soil of the latter is in general rather more sandy, to the sister 
county of 

NORTHAMPTON, 

which occupies the southern end of the Peninsula. It is thirty miles long, with 
an average width of only about five mile^, and contains 103.255 acres of land; 
valuation, $974,818; with a population — white, 3,889; colored, 5.263; total, 9,152. 

All the advantages possessed by Accomack, of easy and quick access to market, 
warm and cheaply tilled soil and salubinous climate are enjoyed by the citizens of 
Northampton. 

Fish, oysters and Avild fowl form a f^ource of cheap and luxurious living, and 
large revenues to the inhabitants of the'^e counties. There is no part of the coun- 
try cheaper to live in than this. About one-fiith of the population of the Penin- 
sula is engaged in planting oysters and fishing, from which a good living is easily 
made. 

Churches are numerous and public schools are convenient. 

The taxes are moderate, being about 90 cents in the hundred dollars' worth of 
property. 

Political freedom here (and everywhere else in Virginia) is a fixed fact. One of 
the strong Dtmucratic towns elected a Republican (a leader of his party) for its 
mayor because he was a good and efficient man. 

The county roads are well located and naturally good. There is notliing lack- 
ing here (I quote a most intelligent correspondent), "but people — new people — 
new ideas. We are as intelligent and industrious as most people, hut we need 
new life to pull us out of the grooves and ruts and turn us into diflferent and more 
progressive channels." 

The same writer says : "These people show, 'strongly marked,' the individu- 
ality of the English settlers, of whom they are the eldest in the United States," 
retaining in a marked degree the quaint manners and expressions of the mother 
country a century and more ago. 

"Lands are for sale at from ten to fifteen dollars per acre," and there is no 
need of a prophet to inform us that they will rapidly eniiance in value." 

The revolution spoken of by our correspondent in Accomack is working in North- 
ampton as well. The southern terminus of the great railroad, connecting with 
Pliiladelpliia and New York, is in this county, at Cape Ciiarles City on tlje Chesa- 
peake Bay, wlure a steam ferry connects with Norfolk and the south, and a great 



HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 21 

impulse has been given to agrioulture, and trucking in particular, by the facilities 
afforded by the railroad which passes through the middle of the couuty for about 
twenty miles. 

" All the farms," writes another valued correspondent, " are within a short dis- 
tance of a railroad depot or a water course, maliiug the transportation to market 
easy and convenient " 

Two correspondents have sent descriptions of Nortliampton, but much that is 
said has been forestalled in depicting the advantages of the sister county, so that 
I must content myself with publishing only condensed extracts. 

"The climate is temperate, the almost insular position giving Northampton an 
exemption from violent extremes of heat and cold. For tlie past 18 years the 
mean annual temperature has been 58° 48' ; and tiie mean rainfall 43.58 inches. 
There are few places wliere you will see more hale and hearty looking old people 
than here. 

The soil is a sandy loam with a sandy clay subsoil— sufficient clay to hold ma- 
nure, and sufficient sand for drainage. The land has been worn but responds 
readily to improvement ; in fact the yield from a light manuring is surprising. 

The crops principally cultivated are corn, potatoes, both sweet and Irish, and 
onions ; and since the opening of the railroad, peas and berries. The county is 
well adapted to general trucking and fruit culture. Black and English walnut 
and pecan grow and bear well here. 

" Farms are from 100 to GOO or 700 acres, value generally $20 to $25 per acre, more 
or less according to improvement and quality of soil." (This shows a rapid advance 
since the statement above was sent me, less tiian two years ago. — C. A.) 

NORTHAMPTON COUNTY MINERALS AT THE NEW ORLEANS EXPOSITION. 

1. Coarse sand, from Ocahonock creek, collected by Rich'd Lamb. — C. »& S. E. 

2. Brick clay, from same locality. 

CAROLINE, 

though classed as one of the Tidewater counties, is in part upon t'oe primary or 
archaean formation. It was formed in 1727 from Esses, King & Queen and King 
William ; is about 28 miles long and 20 wide ; contains 337,357 acres of land ; as- 
sessed at $1,G37,236; value of town lots, $129,236; population — white, 7,G15; col- 
ored, 9,616; total, 17,231, 

It is drained by the Rappahannock, the Mattaponi, the Pamunkey and their 
tributaries, which are numerous, and is one of the best watered counties in the 
State. The various rivers and creeks give much bottom land which is very pro- 
ductive, and fine water-power and mill sites. Corn, wheat and tobacco are largely 
grown. The tobacco of this county is of first-rate quality, there being a belt of 
the "upper Jurassic" formation all along the line between the tertiary and the 
primary formations ; and tlie lands of this character are admirably suited to the finer 
qualities of tobacco, as has been remarked in the general description. 

Clover and orchard grass grow well hercr-perhaps the finest orchard grass seed 
brought to the Richmond market is produced in Caroline, and first rate clover 
seed along with gilt-edged butter from registered Jersey cows. Phosphates are said 
to act remarkabl}' well on these lands. Sheep are profitable, especially raising 
early lambs for the Northern markets. 

The northern boundary of this county extends to within eight miles of Frede- 
ricksburg, and the southern to within twenty of Richmond city. Through ita 



22 HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA, 

entire length from south to north passes the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Po- 
tomac raih-oad. This, with the Chesapeake and Ohio ni-ar its southern edge and 
tlie Kappaliaiinock river on tlie northern boundary, gives convenient access to 
and choice of various markets. 

Large numbers of Northern families have settled in this county, and are said to 
be well pleased with their nevv homes amongst a thrifty, intelligent and moral 
people. 

CHARLES CITY 

was one of the original sJiires of Virginia, and was established in 1G31. It is 30 
miles long, witli a mean width of about eight miles, and contains 113,305 acres, 
assessed at $()2S,2SG. Population— white, 1,765; colored, 3.751 ; total, 5,516. 

This county occupies the Peninsula formed by the Chickahoniiny and James 
rivers. The surface is mostly level or gently undulating. The lands on the rivers 
are generally of excellent quality, and constitute a large proportion of the area. 
Miiny line estates and siuuiry old colonial residences grace the banks of the 
James — among them the homes of two Presidents. 

The productions are corn, wheat, oats, peanuts, clover, and the finest timothy 
hay and orchard grass. The grape produces abundant crops, and is rarely 
affected with disease. 

An enterprising Northern settler has been experimenting here in grape culture 
with signal success. His results, as reported to the Commissioner, have been as- 
tonishing. 

A prominent citizen writes t " Our climate and soil is suitable to an endless 
variety of fruits and vegetables, many of the former growing wild and in great 
profusion." 

The timber consists of oak, pine, elm, ash, poplar, Ac. Largo amounts of ship 
timber, cord wood and poplar for wood pulp are annually sold and shipped to 
Northern markets. 

Lying as Ciiarlos City does between two navigable rivers, and having a railroad 
{the Chesupeake and Ohio) skirting its northern boundary and passing through its 
northwestern corner, its means of transportation to the markets of the country 
are convenient to all parts. 

Marl is abundant, both eocene and miocene — some of it rich in green sand, 

ELIZABETH C TY 

was one of the eight original shires Into which Virginia was divided in 1634. Its 
form is nearly a square of seven miles on a side. It lies on Hampton Roads, 
Chesapeake Bay and Baek river, and is intersected by several creeks. The surface 
is level and the soil fertile, some of it highly so. Population — white, 4,154; col- 
ored, 6,533 ; total, 10.6S7. Number acres of laud, 30,761, assessed at $641,268 ; 
value of town lots, ^46,676. Tlicre are 15,000 acres in timber, consisting of pine, 
gum, oak, ash and poplar. The productions are corn, wheat, oats, grass and 
market truck — the latter industry rapidly increasing. The supply of lish and 
oysters of the finest quality is almost inexhaustible. 

Elizabeth City is penetrated and almost s urroundod by navigable waters, and 
is in daily communication with Norfolk, Riehuioiul, Haltiniore, Washington, 
Philadelphia, New York and Boston, by regular lines of steamers to each of these 
cities, alTording great advantages to truck and fruit growers. 

The Chesapeake and Ohio railroad has its terminus at Old Point Comfort, so 



HAND-BOOK OP VIRGINIA. 23 

well known for the grand fortress located there, and the Ilyfjeia Hotel, now re- 
sorted to by thousands as a winter sanitarliun and luxurious resting place, while 
in summer it is equally popular for its sea breezes and salt baths. 

Hampton, the county seat, is a thriving town of about 2,000 inhabitants. Here 
is located that noble institution, tlie Hampton Normal and Collei;iate Institute, 
for the cilucation and training of negro and Indian students witii accomodation 
for six hundred. The admirable management and successful operation of this 
institution Is too well known to need description. 

Near Hampton is also located the National Soldiers' Home for 2,500 disabled 
volunteer soldiers, with beautiful grounds and buildings. 

All these give employment to a host of meclianics and laborers, and a home 
market for a large part of the farm products, making; Hampton one of the most 
prosperous towns in the State. 

The climate of Elizabeth City is delightful, the average temperature being 75° 
In summer and 44° in winter. 

ESSEX 

was formed in 1692 from Rappahannock county — the records of the original 
county remaining in its archives. It lies on the south side of the Rappahannock 
river, about forty-five miles northeast of Richmond, and is about thirty-five miles 
long and six wide. The population is 11,037; area, 105,578 acres, assessed at 
$784,001 ; value of town lots, 158,702. It is well watered by numerous tributaries 
of the Rappahannock river, some of whioli are navigable. Rappahannock river 
is well stocked with fish of all kinds common to this latitude, and oysters, and is 
navigable to the city of Fredericksburg, which is about fifty-live miles above Tap- 
pabainiock, the county seat of Essex. Tappahannock, the port of entry for the 
district, has 700 or 800 inhabitants, a large sumac mill, canning house, and a 
foundry and machine shop. 

The Weems Line of steamers run three boats a week to and from Baltimore, 
and a boat twice a week to Norfolk. Vessels carry grain to Baltimore for fouf 
cents per bushel ; to Norfolk, three cents. 

The surface of the county is generally level or sligiitly rolling. Ttie river lands 
are, where properly drained, very productive and valuable. Back from the river 
the soil is more sandy, but productive. On Dragon Swamp, which separates 
Essex from King & Queen, are some ilno wheat lands with a heavy, tenacious soil 
of great fertility. This county was once the seat of great wealth, and still pro- 
duces fine crops of corn, wheat and oats. Tobacco has been, to a small extent 
since the war, ])rofitably raised. 

There are several large peach orchards in this county of ten or twelve thousand 
trees each. Melons and other fruit are largely shii)ped from the various wharves 
along the river. 

Clover and orchard grass hay have increased tenfold within the last two years, 
a most gratifying indication of improved farming I Marl is abundant in many 
parts of the county, and has been applied with great benefit in days gone by. 
Gypsum and commercial manures are found to act well, and clover and orchard 
grass flourish here. Peanuts might be profitably cultivated. Good land can be 
bought at from $5 to $10 per acre. 

GLOUCESTER 

was formed in lOGl from York. It is twenty-seven miles long and about eight 
miles wide, and contains 134,501 acres, valued at $1,029,713. Population— white, 



24 HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 

5,342; colored, (5,533; total, 11,872. It lies between Mob Jack bay and York 
and Is watored by Ware, Severn and North rivers and by numerous creeks. 
Piankatank river for(ps part of Us northeast boundary. Those streams give very 
extensive tlJal waters, mostly navif^able for largo vessels, and flllod with llsh and 
oysters of Mie. finest quality. 

"No point in the county is very far from deep water. Borderlnj? upon the latter 
rivers the land is low and al'uvial, and, whore properly managed, very productive, 
liunning bicU of this (ht* lands become higlier, tl)o soil of clay or sandy loam, 
with numerous ri«i\ llats along the many streams which How tlirougli tlie upper 
portions of tlio county. .Marl is found everywhere, underlying tlie lands of the 
low grounds at from two to eight feet below tlie surface, and cropping out of 
every hillside among the highlands. Gloucester was before tlie war one of the 
large wheat-growing counties of Tidewater. All the grains llourish here — corn, 
wheat, rye, outs and b u-ley. The grasses, where proper attention is paid to them, 
grow to perft'ctiou. The attention of many of our people in the lower end of 
the county is being turned to trucking, to which our soil and climate prove ad- 
mirably ad;i|ited. Tobacco does well, and wliere grown by those who understand 
its maiiagement, is profitable. Peainits also have been profitably grown. As 
to fruits, few parts of Eastern Virginia produce them to greater perfection. The 
culture of fruit is rapidly increasing. Among the large fruits, pears prove the 
most prolitable, and strawberries among the small. Grapes are beginning 
to be grown for market, and are paying well. A neighbor of mine has a vineyard 
of Concord vines of about half acre, from which he reaps from one to two hun- 
dred dollars per annum in money, besides making an abundance of most delicious 
wine. In fact there is nothing proper to a temperate clime, whether of grass, 
fruit, vegetable or other staple crop, that cannot be here grown to perfection, with 
proper care and attention. The yield varies — corn from 15 to 75 bushels per acre, 
wheat from U (o 30, oats from 15 to GO, &«.; English peas from 10 to GO barrels 
per acre, potatoes from 20 to 90 barrels. 

" Considerable aniounts of sawed lumber (oak, pine, &c.), cord wood and railroad 
ties are exported. Not more than one-fourth to one-third of tho lands are culti- 
vated — the remainder in forests and .young timber. 

"■ Owing to iier great extent of water front, Gloucester is more largely engaged 
in planting oy.-ters than probabl}' any of the counties, a ver}' large proportion of 
her people deriving their livelihood almost entirely from the water. Vast quan- 
tles of llsh are taken in pounds and other db vices, and shipped to the Northern 
markets or converted into oil and guano. 

"Good schools In good school-houses, public and private, exist in every neigh- 
borhood, and churches of the various denominations — Episcopal, Baptist, Metho- 
dist and Presbyterian — are placed at convenient distances over tiie whole county. 
The roads are excellent in the low grounds, and in the highlands are not so good, 
but being improved. 

" Steamers to Baltimore and Richmond stop daily at the various wharves on the 
York river, while the country on Mobjack bay has a trl-weekly steamer to 
Norfolk, which connects at Old Point with steamers to Philadelphia, New York, 
Boston and I'rovidence, and new wharves are projected with dally steamers to 
Norfolk and Cape Charles City. A steamer also runs several times a week from 
the Piankatank to Baltimore. This, together with numerous sail vessels, provide^ 
cheap and sullleient t ran.* port for the varied products of ot,u' lands and waters. 
A dally mail reaches every neighborhood. The county is, as a whole, healthy, the 
salubrity of the lower portions being unsurpassed. The lands arc cheap. The 



HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 25 

climate, owing to the presence of so many large bodies of salt water and the 
nearness of the ocean, is very mild in winter — snows rarely attaining sufficient 
depth or remaining long enough for sleighing; ani the summer's heat is tem- 
pered by the sea breeze, which blows nearly every day. In the low grounds an 
abundance of good well water is procured at from six to twenty-five feet below 
the surface, while in the higher parts delicious springs bubble from the foot of 
every hill. 

" I thinlj no portion of the State does or can offer to the intending settler a 
fairer field of investment, and in few communities will those who come to settle 
meet a kinder or more cordial reception than here. Although the past two years 
have been hard upon the farmers, yet their condition as a whole is improving. 
The credit system is dying out, and as a consequence our people are each year at- 
taining a greater degree of independence. Farmers are learning to concentrate 
their efforts, and to dispense as far as practicable with outside labor, relying more 
upon what they themselves can accomplish with the aid of improved implements 
and methods. More land is being seeded to grass and more attention paid to 
stock." 

Much land is in the marlcet, with good improvements, and can be had at prices 
greatly reduced from ante-bellum valuations. Some of the finest estates in Vir- 
ginia are in this county, and it was noted for wealth 'and refinement before the 
war. 

The following njinerals from Gloucester were on exhibition at the World's In- 
dustrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition at New Orleans : 

1. Fossil shell, with quartz incrustation, from Gloucester Point. 

2. Nodules of fragments of shells. 

3. Miocene marl, with green sand, from Robins' Mill. 

HANOVER 

was formed in 1720 from New Kent; population — white 9,294, Indian 12, 
colored 9,282, total 18,588; there are 291,911 acres of land, assessed at $1,851,979. 

It lies between the Pamunkey and Chickahominy rivers ; the northeast line is 
formed by the North Anna and Pamunkey, the latter scream being formed near 
the centre of that line by the junction of the South Anna with the North Anna. 
The central parts are well drained by tributaries of these -main streams. 

Like Caroline, this county is par ly in the archaean and partly in the tertiary 
formation, the line between the two dividing it into two sections nearly equal in 
area. The Richmond and Fredericksburg railroad follows this line (very nearly) 
along its whole course between the two cities. 

The surface in the eastern part is generally level, and the soil a light sandy loam , 
well suited to trucking. The sweet potato here attains its greatest perfection, 
and the melons of Hanover are unsurpassed. In the central and western portions 
the surface is more rolling, and the lands suited to the culture of tobacco, the 
cereals and grasses. 

On the Pamunkey are some fine wheat lands. 

There are many fine estates, and the farmers are intelligent, judicious and in- 
dustrious. The farm products aggregate a great bulk and value, and bring into 
the county large sums of money. 

Marls of several sorts, both miocene and eocene, with green sand of the richest 
quality, are found here, and have been very profitably used on the lands. 

Recent discoveries of deposits of phosphate of lime have been made on the 
Pamunkey river. 
2 



26 HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 

Mica, feldspar, asbestos and gneiss are found in the western lialf of the county. 

This is a fine county for immiorrants with small capital and industrious habits. 
The trucking and canning business can be, and is, made very profitable here by 
persons familiar with gardei:iing. 

The railroad facilities of this county are excellent. Besides the R. P. & P. 
railroad passing througli from north to south, the Chesapeake and Ohio intersects 
it in a north and northwest direction, having a course of nearly forty miles in 
Hanover, and the Richmond and York River railroad skirts its southeast corner. 

HANOVEB COUNTY MINERALS AT THE NEW OBLEANS EXPOSITION. 

1. Oneiss, with gametts. 

2. Orthoclase feldspar crystals, from mica mine near Noel station, C. & O. Ry. 

The following from Virginia Department of Agriculture : 

3. Marl—DT. Christian, St. Peter's Church. 

4. Asbestos — from Rockville : Leake. 

5. ^/taZe— Little River. 

6. Lignite — Jura-Trias. 

7. Marl—Old Church: G. L. Ernest. 

8. Green sand marl — Hickory Hill: Gen. VVms. C. Wickham, 

9. Oreen sand marl — Hickory Hill : Gen. Wma. C. Wickham. 

10. Coprolites—B&asett farm, Pamunkey river. Contains 23.47 per cent, phos- 
phoric acid. 

11. Bones, Sec. — Bassett farm. Contains 34.39 per cent, phosphoric acid. Ana- 
lyzed by Dr. W. J. Gascoyne. 

12. Olive earth— BsLSsett farm. Contains by analysis of Dr. Gascoyne 2.64 per 
cent, phosphoric acid. 

13. Green sand. 

HENRICO 

was one of the original shires into which Virginia was divided in 1643. Its length 
is 27 miles ; mean breadth, about 8 miles. The surface is undulating ; soil on 
the rivers veiy productive. It is drained on the south line by James river, and on 
the north by the Chickahominy, and by their tributaries. It produces largely of 
corn, wheat, oats, trucks, and some tobacco. Tlie population, including Rich- 
mond, is 83,575— white, 45,867 ; colored, 37,708. Number of acres of land, 163,322, 
assessed at $4,736,474 ; value of town lots, $586,035. 

Having the large city of Richmond, with a population of 70,000, near the centre 
of its south border, and four railroads passing through this county, the products 
of the farm have quick, ready sale and small cost of carriage. Its productions 
are large and varied, and the profits of farming as good as in any part of the 
country. Green sand marl has been found in the lower or eastern part of the 
county, and used on the land with excellent results ; also white marl, rich in lime, 
abounds in the lower end, and has been very profitably used. Grass succeeds well. 
There are several large nurseries and many large orchards and vineyards in the 
county ; and dairy farming is extensively carried on. 

The planting of vineyards is going on rapidly, as experience has shown that 
this county is admirably adapted to grape -growing. The ''Norton,'' the best of 
American wine grapes, except the "Cynthiana," which is of the same family, 
originated just outside of Richmond, and almost all the native grapes do well 



HAND BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 27 

here. A fe\r years will probably see Richmond the centre of a great wine-making 
district. 

The Richmond and Alleghany railroad runs along the southern border of this 
county, and the Chesapeake and Ohio, the Richmond and Fredericksburg, and 
Richmond, York River and Chesapealie and the projected Richmond and Chesa- 
peake railroads pass through the county. 

Granite in great abundance, potter's c)ay and coal exist in Henrico. " Natural " 
coke of excellent quality is largely mined in the upper part of the county. Iron 
pyrites have recently been discovered in this county three miles below Richmond. 

Richmond, the capital and the largest city in the State, is situated in this county, 
on the north bank of James river, at the head of tidewater. It has extensive 
wharves and docks, with a depth of 18 feet of water over the bar, to be increased 
to 24 feet. The tonnage of the port of Richmond amounted to the following in 
1881 : Steamers, 490,000 tons ; sailing vessels, 205,000 tons. This does not include 
river steamers, tug-boats, or small sailing vessels. The water-power is allbrded 
by a fall of 84 feet. At the lowest flow of the river this fall produces 9,500 
horse-power. The whole of this power now in use is 4,200. From Bosher's dam 
nine miles above the city, to tidewater, is a fall of 118 feet, which, with the above 
flow, would produce 13,500 theoretical horse-power or 10,000 actual. For steam 
power the capacity is unlimited, as this city has access to the finest and cheapest 
steam coals. 

STATE ASSESSMENT AND TAXES FOR 1885. 

Value of real estate $32,347,805 

Value of personal property 10.594,131 

Value of income 1.609 478 

$44,414,591 
MANUFACTURES. 

Number of establishments 711 

Persons employed ; , 15,676 

Capital employed $10,504,121 

Annual sales $24,697,507 



28 



HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 



Religious Statistics of Richmond. 



DENOMINATIONS. 



Baptist— wblte 

Baptist— colored 

Catholic 

Chrlstadelphian 

Disciples 

Friends 

German Evangelical 

Jewish 

Lutheran 

Methodist— white , 

Methodist— colored 

Presbyterian 

Protestant Episcopal— white.. 
Protestant Episcopal— colored 

Totals : , 



No. of 
Churches 



59 



Member- 
ship. 



4,69S 

11,744 

5,700 

45 

730 

75 

300 

2S0 

410 

3,094 

416 

1,563 

'2,475 

66 

31,655 



Contribu- 
tions. 



Sunday Schools. 



Oltlcers 

and 
Teachers. 



141,291 40 
24,374 11 
2,355 93 



6,435 73 



2,600 00 

6,200 CO 

4,685 00 

36,730 02 

2,067 14 

28,943 35 

61,448 52 

570 59 



$217,978 08 



431 

236 

01 



40 

10 

22 

324 

84 

163 

256 

12 

1,629 



Scholars. 

3,67» 

2,768 

706 



30O 

150 

221 

1,340 

283 

1,039 

1,789 

120 



18,601 



HENRICO COUNTY MINERALS AT THE NEW ORLEANS EXPOSITION. 

1. Granite, from Richmond Granite Company's quarry at Korah station, R. 
and A. R. R. 

2. Granite, two finished monuments each 10 feet high, from same company as 
above. 

3. Granite^ two varieties of Belgian bloclts for paving, from same. 

4. Granite, Belgian paving blocks, two varieties, from J. B. Mitchell & Co., 
Mitchell station. 

5. Granite, two cubes of building stone, dressed, polished, &c., from same as 
above. 

6. Lignite, from " Dutch Gap" on James river, from Prof. Fontaine. 

From Virginia Department Agriculture : 7. Green Sand Marl, from John W. 
Warincr. 8. Marl, J. W. Warioer. 9. Fire Clay, Dill's farm. 10. Quartz. 
11. Clay, Westham, on R. and A. R. R. 

ISLE OF WIGHT 

was one of the original shires into which Virginia was divided in 1634. It is 35 
miles long, with a mean width of about ten miles. 

Population— white, 6,010 ; colored, 4,562 ; total, 10,572. It has 188,087 acres of 
land, assessed at $1,171,928 ; value of town lots, $154,967. 



HAND-BOOK OF VIRGJ^^IA. 29 

The surface is mostly level, and the soil a light sandy loam. The productionB 
are corn, wheat, oats, cotton, peanuts, fruits and vegetables. 

The land is easily tilled, and produces good crops. Trucking is carried on very 
successfully. 

This county has the James river on its northeast border, and is penetrated on 
the south by Blackwater and branches of Nansemond river, Pagan creek and 
their tributaries. The Norfolk and Western railroad traverses the centre and the 
Seaboard and Roanoke railroad passes through the southern part. These roads, 
together with the navigation on the James and on Pagan creek, place all parts of 
the county within easy and quick communication with the markets of the whole 
country. 

This county has valuable and extensive deposits of marl, rich in carbonate of 
lime. This and lime are largely used in peanut culture. Vegetables, fruits and 
melons are shipped from this county to the Northern cities in large quantities. 
The supplies of fish and oysters are very large and valuable. Timber of all the 
varieties native to this section is abundant. The health of this county is as good 
as any portion of tidewater. 

JAMES CITY. 

was one of the original shires. Its length is 2G miles, and its mean breadth eight 
miles. Population— white, 2,227 ; colored, 3,195 ; total, 5,422. Area, 92,014 ; valued 
at $385,967. Here was the seat of the oldest permanent English settlement on 
the continent, the colony at Jamestown. 

The ancient and renowned town of Williamsburg, the seat of William and Mary 
College, which has sent out many distinguished men from its halls, is in this 
county. 

It lies in the peninsula formed by the York, the James and the Chickahominy 
rivers. The surface is level or gently undulating. The soil on the rivers is rich 
and productive ; the ridge lands are generally light, but easily improved. 

Fish and oysters abound and are important sources of food and revenue. Land 
sells for $10 to $25 for improved, $1 to $10 for unimproved, per acre. 

Marl is abundant and very rich, often 90 per cent, carbonate of lime, and was 
formerly used with fine ellect on the soil. 

" The land answers at once to improvement in the shape of manure, but all 
who coroe here biiy and work too much land for their capital," so writes one of 
the foremost citizens of the county, and we commend his views to settlers and 
Virginians generally. lie adds, "labor is plentiful; good hands $8 to $9 per 
month and ^ board.' All the necessaries and luxuries of life are cheap and abun- 
dant." 

Another esteemed correspondent writes : " The land la easily cultivated, and re- 
sponds bountifully to the application of fertilizers." 

Corn, wheat, oats and peanuts are the principal crops. Fruits and all vege- 
tables do well. 

Many of the farmers are embarking in the trucking business, for which it would 
appear they have admirable facilities. 

A large business is done in lumber, railroad ties and cord wood. 

In addition to navigable waters, the means of quick access to the markets of the 
world have been greatly increased by the extension of the Chesapeake and Ohio 
railroad through the centre of this county to its deep water terminus at Newport 
News. 



30 HAlft)-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 



JAMES CITY COUNTY MINERALS AT THE NEW ORLEANS EXPOSITION. 

1. Marl^ phosphatic green sand from the " Grove," or Carter's Grove, P. W. 
Hinton. 

2. Phosphatic green sand marl, ground, for basis of " Carter's Grove Fertil- 
izer," from Carter's Grove plantation on James river, from Hon. E. G. Booth, 

3. Glass sand, from the "Trencher," li miles from Williamsburg ; probably 
the same from which glass was made by the early settlers, as mentioned by Capt. 
John Smith, 

4. Fossil Teeth, from Jones' mill, one mile west of Williamsburg, 

KING AND QUEEN 

was formed from New Kent in 1691. It lies between the Mattaponi and Pianka- 
tank rivers, which, with their numerous tributaries, drain this county and make 
it one of the best watered in the State. It is about 30 miles long by 10 wide, and 
contains 192,978 acres, assessed at $849,001. Population— white, 4,424 ; colored, 
6,078; total, 10,502. 

The Eiver lands, which constitute a large part of the area, are very productive, 
and the inexhaustible beds of marl found here afford the means of permanent 
improvement. The staple crops are wheat, corn, oats, rye, hay, fruits, and veg- 
tables. 

Some good tobacco is raised in the upper portion and the cultivation is grad- 
ually extending, and may, in the course of some years, obtain over the whole 
county as it was 100 years ago. 

The farmers are, to some extent, beginning to raise trucks, chiefly Irish and 
sweet potatoes, to which much of the land is well adapted. 

There are many good peach and apple orchards. Peaches, as a crop, are 
rather uncertain, as they are liable to be killed by frost after blooming. The 
apple crop is more certain, and early apples are destined in the future to be a 
source of considerable profit. 

The lands are variable in quality and productiveness. Some are heavy and 
stiff, and well adapted to wheat, grass and potatoes. A large portion, especially 
on the rivers, is light, but even these generally yield good wheat crops. Many of 
the farmers grow good crops of clover, timothy and orchard grass hay. Some of 
the light lands produce profitable crops of peas. Many use pea fallows, and 
lately some are substituting rye instead of peas and clover as a fallow crop. 

Gray marl underlies a large portion of the county and is very accessible, being 
dug from banks instead of having to be raised from pits. Some of it is very rich 
in lime, yielding upon analysis 70 to 80 per cent, carbonate of lime. 

Eastern Virginia enjoys a remarkable exemption from violent storms. A severe 
and destructive wind is rare, and in Tidewater Virginia floods can do but little 
damage, owing to the fact that tlie lands are rolling and the rivers lie between 
high banks. Floods occasionally damage some of the flat lands on the upper 
portions of the rivers above tidewater, but the area liable to them is very small. 

The Mattaponi river lies on the southwest side of the county, and is naviga- 
ble almost to the upper boundary. There is steamboat navigation as well as many 
sailing vessels. At present no railroad passes through the county, but one is now 
being surveyed, and grading has begun at the eastern end (Richmond and Chesa- 
peake). The Richmond and York River railroad passes through King William^ 
and is accessible to the middle and lower portion of the county. 



HAND-BOOK OP VIRGINIA. 31 

The forest contain white, red and Spanish oalf, yellow pine, gum sycamore, 
poplar, hickory, dog wood, holly, walnut, persimmon, beach, birch, etc., etc. 

The county is noted for the morality of its inhabitants. There are very few 
liquor stores, and at the county seat liquor has not been sold for about fifteen years, 
and tt is an exceedingly rare thing to see a case of disorder or anyone drunk. The 
population is homogeneous, many families having been living here for 150 to 200 
years. 

The farm hands are generally negroes who were formerly slaves, but the native 
white population are now gradually being hired as farm hands. 

One of the leading citizens writes us : " Within the last few years there has 
been some immigration to this county of an excellent class of people. In the 
neighborhood of Walkerton and Stevensville some ten or twelve families have 
bought farms and settled on them. They are sober and industrious and pleased 
with their homes. We would welcome many more like them." 

KING GEORGE 

was formed in 1720 from Richmond county. Population — white, 3,162 ; colored, 
3,235; total, 6,597. Area, 111,860 acres, assessed at $807,228; value of town 
lots, $2,897. 

It lies between the Potomac and Rappahannock rivers, which form the north 
and south boundaries respectively, and furnish exteipsive navigable waters for the 
entire county ; the width between the rivers being from five to ten miles, while 
the extent of river frontage is about twenty miles on each side. 

Besides the valuable transportation facilities afforded by these tidal highways, 
the streams furnish large resources in fish, oysters and wild fowl. 

The lands on the rivers are very good and produce valuable crops of wheat, 
corn, oats and vegetables, and are generally light and easily cultivated. 

The means of plenteous and even luxurious living are abundant, and render 
this a most desirable county to live in. 

There are some large and valuable estates in this county, and it was once the 
residence of many wealthy families. 

Fruits of all kinds succeed well in this section. 

Marls of various kinds are found in this county. 

KING WILLIAM. 

This county is a narrow peninsula, lying between the Pamunkey and Mattaponi 
rivers, which unite and form the York. It is some thirty miles long by about 
eight miles as its average width. Population — white, 8,283 ; colored, 5,468 ; 
total, 8,751.. Area, 169,073 acres, assessed at $922,715; value of town lots, 
$164,553. The Pamunkey and Mattaponi are navigable for steam and sail boats 
of large size for about two-thirds of the length of the county, affording ample 
and cheap transportation to all the Eastern markets. 

The York river division of the Richmond and Danville system of railroad passes 
through about twenty miles of the county, connecting daily with steamers for 
Baltimore and other points north, and semi-weekly with those for New York, 
Boston and Providence. Another railroad from Richmond is in course of 
construction, which, when completed, will cross the county near its centre, and 
will afford quick connection witli Richmond and Baltimore. The distance to 
Richmond is some twenty miles by the road. 

West Point, the deep water terminus of the Richmond and Danville system of 



32 HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 

railroads, is situated at the extreme east point of the county. It is a growing town, 
with the best of harbors, water of sufficient depth for the largest ocean steamers, 
with the most extensive wharves in the south, where ships are regularly loaded 
with cotton, flour, lumber, &c., for Europe and South America. As might be 
supposed, the land lies well for cultivation. The flats along the rivers are exten- 
sive and productive ; the soil throughout the county is of good quality, producing 
a fine quality of corn, wheat, tobacco, oats, peanuts, peas, potatoes, vegetables of 
all kinds. Clover, millet and other hay crops do well ; timothy also does well in 
many places on the bottoms and improved highlands. 

Large deposits of marl are found in many sections. The green sand along the 
Pamunkey is one of nature's best fertilizers, producing wonderful improvements 
wherever applied. The water supply is good and never failing. Artesian wellg 
have been lately introduced and many have been sunk, reaching a constant flow 
at a depth of only a few hundred feet. The health of the inhabitants will com- 
pare favorably with any section of the south. Public schools are in successful 
operation and meet the wants of the people. Labor is abundant and cheap ; good 
men can be bad at from $10 to $12 per month and found. The climate is unsur- 
passed, just cold enough for ice and never too hot to work. The lands are now 
cheap, but prices are advancing, as quite a number of farms have been lately sold 
to Northern and Western settlers. 

There is abundance of good marl, which has been used witli much benefit to the 
soil. The green sand marl of King William is similar to that of New Jersey 
which has been found so valuable as to bear carriage considerable distances from 
the beds. The timber consists of pine, oak, chestnut, beach, poplar and ash. 

All these advantages render the county a very inviting field for new settlers, 
who are always heartily welcomed. 

LANCASTER 

was formed in 1651. It lies on the north bank of the Rappahannock river, where 
it debouches into Chesapeake Bay. Northumberland and Richmond counties 
bound it on the north. Area of the county, 81,087 acres, assessed at $624,294. 
Population— white, 2,626 ; colored, 3,534 ; total, 6,160. 

The surface is mostly level, with some rolling lands. The soil is a sandy and 
clay loam, producing good crops of corn, wheat, oats, vegetables and fruits. 

It is drained by numerous creeks running from the interior of the county, trib- 
utaries of the Rappahannock river and of Chesapeake Bay. There are two 
steamers plying between Baltimore and Fredericksburg, which touch at various 
landings in this county four times a week ; and one steamer between Baltimore 
and Piankatank touching at a wharf on Dymor's creek. 

Ship and other timber and a large quantity of cord- wood is sold from this 
county, and immense quantities of oysters are shipped annually. 

A large area, consisting of apples, peaches, pears, apricots, plums, &c., of this 
county is in orchards. Corn is the chief farm crop, but some of the lands pro- 
duce large crops of wheat. With cheap and quick transportation to the cities 
north, this county is enabled to throw her early products on the market at the 
most propitious time. 

The health of the county is go»d. Consumption is rarely heard of. 

Our correspondent writes : " Within the last ten years a marked improvement 
is manifest in the general appearance of our county and I think equally so as to 
the prosperity of her people. New, comfortable and elegant dwellings have taken 



HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 33 

the place of the humbler cottages. Commodious barns and other out houses and 
good fencing are seen almost every where. We have five villages with a number 
of large 2 and 3 story store houses doing fair business. Some six or eight factories 
where guano and oil are made from fish in large quantities, giving employment to 
many of our citizens and sailors and their vessels ; some three or four canning 
factories; a seed farm owned by D. Landreth & Son, the great seedsmen of 
Philadelphia, which is worked in the most approved manner with all the appli- 
ances and machinery necessary, and produces many thousands of bushels of turnip 
seed and other farm and garden seed. I think there are no lands in Virginia 
which respond more promptly or profitably for the care and attention bestowed 
upon them than those of the lower Northern Neck. The average yield of wheat 
this year was very good and In almost every case it is followed by the best crop 
of clover perhaps ever seen here ; many are making large crops of clover hay as 
well as clover seed. In this connection I refer to a neighbor who this year har- 
vested 1,005 bushels of wheat from 25 acres of land ; and from seed sown last 
spring has mowed 2 J tons of clover hay per acre, and expects to thresh a part 
of the second growth (now in blossom) for seed. 

In addition to our river and steamboat means of transportation we expect soon 
to have a railroad from the city of Richmond to the Great Wicomico river. The 
depot for which has been secured as also the right of way for track, a part of 
which has been cleared and the whole line surveyed. When complete it will 
place us in 80 miles and 2 hours of our capital city, which now to reach requires 
about 24 hours and via Fredericksburg by steam 160 miles. Our public free school 
system seems to be working very well with good school houses and teachers for 
all children of school age, white and colored. Several new churches have been 
built and others in progress of erection. 

The oyster fundum is a source of untold value and gives profitable employment 
to many of our citizens. 

MATHEWS 

was created in 1790 from Gloucester. It is 20 miles long, and at its widest section 
about 9 miles across — a peninsula, extending Into Chesapeake Bay, united to the 
mainland by a narrow neck of land scarcely a mile wide — so that its boundaries 
are almost entirely of water. 

It contains 54,288 acres, assessed at $600,008. Population — white, 5,042 ; col- 
ored, 2,459 ; total, 7,501. 

The surface of Mathews is almost a dead level — the soil light, easily worked 
and fertile. Corn, wheat, oats, grass (a cotrespondent say« about 200 acres of 
grass produces from 1 to 2 tons per acre), fruits and vegetables are largely pro- 
duced ; and there is convenient and cheap transportation to Baltimore by steamers 
touching at the wharves. Mathews is famous for oysters and fish, which are a 
source of large revenue. 

Owing to its almost insular position, Mathews is swept by salt breezes, and is 
said to be very healthy — a most desirable location for settlers. It may be re- 
marked that Mathews is among the most thickly settled counties in the State (not 
reckoning cities), and the average assessment of lands is higher than in most of 
the counties of Tidewater. Only Elizabeth City, Norfolk, Alexandria and Acco- 
mack surpass it. 

MATHEWS COUNTY MINERALS AT N. O. EXPOSITION, FROM COL. RICHARD LAMB. 

1. Grayish marl, from Taliaferro farm, on Warehouse Creek. 

2. Compact crystalline marl, from same locality as above. 



34 HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 



MIDDLESEX 

was formed from Lancaster in 1875. It 'comprises a strip of land about 30 miles 
in length, Avith an average width of five miles, lying between the Rappahannock 
and Piankatank rivers. Contains 80,767 acres of land, assessed at $468,152 ; value 
town lots, $33,650. Population— white, 2,618 ; colored, 3,634 ; total, 6,252. 

The whole county is underlaid with beds of miocene marl, which have been ex- 
tensively used with great benefit to the soil. Some of this marl is a nearly pure 
carbonate of lime, analyzing 95 per cent. 

On the rivers the elevation of the land is from ten to thirty feet above tidewater 
— a mile or two back it rises to a hundred feet or more. The soil, varying in tex- 
ture from sandy loam to the stiffest clay, well drained, easily tilled, productive, 
and very improvable ; being very convenient to market (there are lines of fine 
steamers on both rivers bordering the county — time to Baltimore eight hours, and 
freight low), Middlesex oflFers great inducements to truckers, fruit-growers and 
farmers. 

Fish and oysters abound. There are several oyster and fish canneries and seve- 
ral fish fertilizer factories in the county. 

Timber is abundant, cheap and of excellent quality, and there are many steam 
and water-mills in the county. In colonial times there were potteries here, there 
being beds of fine potter's clay. 

Society is good, and the people will welcome immigrants. Lands are yet low- 
priced, but rising in value. 

MIDDLESEX MINERALS AT THE NEW ORLEANS EXPOSITION. 

1. Blue tnarl—trom Hon. Robt. Healy, Va. Dept. Agriculture. 

2. Shells, pebbles, Sfc. — from Dr. J. Mason Evans, Va. Dept. Agriculture* 

NANSEMOND 

lies on the west side of Norfolk, and, like that county, extends from the North 
Carolina line to Hampton Roads, being, in round numbers, 30 miles long by 19 
wide. It is watered by tlie Nansemond river an(^ other streams running into the 
James, and by tributaries of the Blackwater. Number of acres of land 256,289, 
assessed at $1,370,919; value of town lots, $540,341. Population — white, 7,728; 
colored, 8,175; total, 15,903. 

The surface of Nansemond is nearly level— the soil a friable, sandy loam, a de- 
scription of land now considered the best for general purposes, the most profitable 
to work on account of economy of cultivation and adaptability to a great variety 
of crops. Marl is abundant in the county, and is much used. 

Peanuts and cotton, corn, oats, and vegetables of all sorts (truck) are the prin- 
cipal products of this thriving county. A large portion of the land is devoted to 
"trucking," easy access to market being furnished by the Nansemond river and 
the steamers plying thereon, and by railroads to Norfolk and Portsmouth (the 
Norfolk and Western, and the Seaboard and Roanoke. From these cities there is 
cheap and quick transportation daily to the great markets of the northern cities. 

The potatoes of Nansemond have long been celebrated, and other vegetables 
grow in equal perfection and ripen early, especially melons, peas and tomatoes. 

Fish and oysters abound. There is yet much fine timber in this county, mostly 
pine, cypress and juniper. 



HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 35 

This is one of the most prosperous counties in Virginia, the people being indus- 
trious and ready to avail themselves of the many natural advantages with which 
Nansemond is blessed. 

Suffolk, the county seat, is a busy and thriving town, the centre of a large local 
trade. It is connected with Norfoll< and Portsmouth by railroads, as above men- 
tioned, and by river navigation, and is the terminus of the Suffolk and Carolina 
railroad. 

Suffolk was in 1885 visited with a heavy calamity — a fire which consumed much 
of the business part of the town — but the energy of this thrifty people has rapidly 
rebuilt their town and revived its prosperity. 

NEW KHNT 

was formed in 1654 from Yoik. It is 26 miles long and seven to nine miles broad, 
and contains 127,742 acres of land, assessed at $407,360. Population — white, 2,275; 
colored, 3,232 ; total, 5,507. 

This county, lying between the Pamunkey, York and Chlckahominy rivers, has 
extensive and fertile bottom lands, with navigable streams on two sides. Two 
railroads furnish added facilities for access to market. The Richmond and York 
River railroad on the north, and the Chesapeake and Ohio railway in the south- 
ern part, are of convenient access to all parts of its territory, and bring it into 
close connection with all the trade centres of the country. 

The soil is light and sandy in the interior, and varies from sandy to stiff' clay on 
the river bottoms. 

The productions are corn, wheat, oats, and early vegetables and potatoes (both 
sweet and Irish), for which latter the soil is well suited. 

Marl is abundant and of excellent quality. That near St. Peter's church con- 
tains about 90 per cent, carbonate of lime, and has been successfully used on the 
the lands and even for mortar in laying bricks. 

The timber consists of oak, hickory, maple, dogwood, pine and other valuable 
trees. Much cord- wood and ship timber is annually marketed from this county. 

The people are intelligent and cultivated, and are noted for their generous hos- 
pitality and sociability. Lands can be cheaply bought, the price varying from $2 
to $20 per acre. It is a healthy county, with the exception of mild types of in- 
termittent fevers easily controlled. 

NEW KENT MINERALS AT THE NEW ORLEANS EXPOSITION. 

1. Phospnate rock — from R. T. Lacy. Contains 23.20 per cent, phosporic acid — 
Virginia Department of Agriculture. 

2. Iron ore — from Virginia Agricultural Department. 

3. Green sand marl — from J. P. Pearson, Tunstall's — from Virginia Depart- 
ment of Agriculture. 

4. Shell marl — from Tunstall's — Virginia Department of Agriculture. 

5. Shell marl — from near St. Peter's church — Va. Department of Agriculture. 

NORFOLK 

was formed in 1691 from Lower Norfolk. It is twenty-four miles long with a 
mean breadth of nineteen, and stretches from the North Carolina line to Hampton 
Roads in the north, with Elizabeth river and its branches penetrating every part. 
In the southwestern corner, partly in this county and partly in Nansemond, is the 



36 HAND-BOOK OF VIEGINIA. 

celebrated " Dismal Swamp," which, lying higher than the surrounding country, 
furnishes an abundant supply of tiie purest water, which csm be carried to the 
cities of Norfolli and Portsmouth. 

The population of Norfolk county, including Norfolk city and Portsmouth, was 
in 18S0, 58,942, but has much increased since. Number of acres of land, 241,914, 
assessed at $1,360,831 ; value of town lots, $677,320. 

Tlie surface of the county is level, the soil a sandy loam with clay sub-soil. Na- 
ture seems to have designed it for a great garden, and it is rapidly being utilized 
in that way. Gardens and trucking farms are spreading in every direction around 
Norfolk and Portsmouth — soil, climate, market facilities, all concurring to give an 
unexampled impetus to the trucking business. Otlier crops can be raised— corn, 
oats, peanuts and other field crops — Uut market gardening is found so much more 
profitable that all energies are being applied in tliis direction. Communication 
with all the great cities north of Virginia is now rapid and easy, and freights are 
cheap. The recent opening of the New York, Philadelpliia and Norfolk railroad, 
shortening tlie time to the great markets by five hours, has given a great impetus 
to market gardening. Early vegetables and strawberries of tlie finest quality are 
shipped in immense quantities and bring a large amount of money into this county 
and those adjacent. Perishable fruits and vegetables can be gathered in the even- 
ing and placed in the New York market by sunrise next morning. 

Lands are rapidly rising in value, and already very high in the vicinity of the 
cities. 

Norfolk is celebrated for the excellence and quantity of the oysters and flsh 
brought to its market, and for the abundance of game. 

Norfolk and its twin sister, Portsmouth, are rapidly growing in importance. 
Lines of steamers to Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York and Boston, besides those 
running inland to Richmond, Sraitlifield, Newport News, and those across the bay 
to Cherrystone and Cape Charles City, and by the canal to Currituck, throng the 
fine harbor. The foreign trade of Norfolk, too, is considerable, and increasing, 
as Norfolk has become a great cotton port — the third in the Union. The popula- 
tion of this beautiful and thriving city is now about 26,000. 

The Norfolk and Western railroad, the Seaboard and Roanoke, and the Norfolk 
and Carolina railroads terminate here, and the railroads to the popular sea-bathing 
places at Ocean View and Virginia Beach have made these places easily accessible 
and draw great numbers of people to Norfolk. 

The city of Portsmouth is a port of entry and the county seat of Norfolk county. 
It is situate on the west bank of the Elizabeth river, opposite the city of Norfolk, 
with which it is connected by a steam ferry. It is the terminus of the Seaboard 
and Roanoke railroad, whose building and repair shops are located just without 
the city limits. 

It has a population of eleven or twelve thousand and there is a suburban popu- 
lation of three or four thousand more. 

Portsmouth is on level ground and is regularly laid out. The streets, for the 
most part, are wide and straight, and they are, in general, well paved. The build- 
ings are substantial, and many of them are of modern design. The assessed 
value of real and personal property is three millions, eight hundred thousand dol- 
lars. 

There are two banks, an insurance and banking company, three liotels, three 
academies of learning, twenty public and a number of private schools, one week- 
ly and two daily newspapers, thirteen churches, one opera house, several public 



HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 37 

halls and three manufactories of bricks. Portsmouth has a Board of Trade and 
Exchange, which meets at stated times. 

The business is principally retail, but considerable wholesale trade is done in 
groceries, lumber and staves. 'J'he packing and shipping of oysters is an industry 
employing a large number of hands and involving considerable capital. 

Being situated in the centre of the garden truck growing district of Virginia 
and near the sea, the markets are abundantly supplied with table delicacies from 
the land and the water, making the cost of living quite moderate. 

The harbor is one of the best on the Atlantic coast and is accessible at all sea- 
sons of the year to vessels of the largest class. 

Lines of steamers run to Boston, Providence, New York, Philadelphia, Balti- 
more, Washington, Richmond, and also to points south, and the city is connected 
by a railway system with the principal cities in the United States. 

The health of Portsmouth is remarkably good. The percentage of pulmonary 
diseases is very small, and the mortality record shows a smaller death rate than 
that of most of the cities on the Atlantic seaboard. 

In the southern part of the city is a United States navy yard — one of the largest 
and bent equipped navy yards in the country — where employment is aflbrded to a 
large number of mechanics and clerks. 

A great naval station and dry-dock of the United States is located here, and 
the largest ships can be accommodated in this fine harbor and dock. 

The enterprise and public spirit of the people have kept pace with the develop- 
ment of their resources and of their commerce. Fine shell roads, radiating in 
sundry directions from Norfolk, have superseded the dirt roads that were used a 
few years ago. 

No part of the country oflTers a more inviting field to enterprising and indus- 
trious settlers than does Norfolk county. 

A correspondent sends a description of Norfolk county so graphic that I insert 
it almost entire, at the risk of some repetition. 

This county is situated immediately on Hampton Roads, and occupies the en- 
tire basin of the Elizabeth river and its many navigable branches. It contains 
about five hundred square miles and a population of thirty thousand, exclusive of 
the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth, both of which are in its geographic limits. 

Its people are generally native Americans — mostly Virginians and Carolinians, 
wit'i a good sprinkling of nortlicrn and western men settled here since the war 
between the States. In religion they are mostly Methodist and Baptist, there be- 
ing thirty-nine churches for whites and about an equal number for the colored. 

Of the churches for white sixteen are Methodist, thirteen Baptist, four "Chris- 
tian," three Episcopalian and three Presbyterian. 

There are sixty-nine public schools — thirty-flve for white and thirty-four for 
colored — for the maintenance of which about twenty-five thousand dollars is an- 
nually appropriated. 

This county is noted for the variety and fertility of its soil, and its adaptation 
to fruit and all kinds of farm and garden productions grown in this latitude. 
The northern and middle sections are especially adapted to the growing of trucks 
or garden vegetables and small fruits. This industry has grown in the last few 
years to immense proportions, as is demonstrated by the fact that about five mil- 
lion dollars worth of truck — including potatoes, cabbage, kale, peas, beans, beets, 
squash, cucumbers, melons, pears, berries, ete., etc. — are annually shipped from 
Norfolk to northern and western markets, and a very large proportion of these 
are grown in this county. And yet the business is only in its infancy, and thou- 



38 . HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 

Bands of acres are waiting for capital or new settlers with capital to occupy and 
develop. In the soutliern section, while tliere is much land similar to the above 
in its adaptation to vegetable gardening, yet the larger portion is of a different 
character, consisting of a dark rich soil overlying a rich clay subsoil, which is 
capable of producing the most abundant crops of corn, oats, potatoes, clover, 
timothy, herds and other grasses. Lately the farmers of tliis section have turned 
their attention to grass and stoclt growing with more than satisfactory results. 
The writer has this season harvested two tons per acre of timothy and herds grass, 
from land which never had ia fertilizing but one application of lime. The indi- 
cations are that the time is not distant wiien this section will be noted for its fine 
stock and grass farms. 

In addition to these natural advantages of soil, few people are blessed with 
sucli facilities for transporting and marketing their productions. Besides the 
advantages offered by the Elizabeth and Northwest rivers and their branches per- 
meating every section, the county is intersected by two canals (tlie Chesapeake 
and Albemarle, and the Dismal Swamp) and six railroads (the Norfolk and West- 
ern, Norfolk Southern, Seaboard and Roanoke, Virginia Beach, Ocean View, and 
Western Branch), which, with her many shell turnpikes and roads, afford every 
farmer a depot or landing within two or three miles of his home, thus enabling 
him in a few hours to place his productions aboard some one of the many large 
steamers that leave Norfolk city daily for the New York, Philadelphia, Boston, 
Baltimore and Washington markets. 

Besides the agricultural interests, the county has many other industries (outside 
of the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth) worthy of mention. Among them we 
Bote — 

1st. Lumber cutting and manufacturing, wich an invested capital of eigli hun- 
dred thousand dollars and twenty hundred employees, turning out annually 
50,000,000 feet of sawed lumber, millions of cypress and juniper shingles, and 
thousands of pine, oak and cypress piles, together with immense quantities of 
white cedar cord-wood, which is sliipped to the Manchester and New York cedar 
works for the manufacture of tubs, buckets and other wood ware, the timber for 
which is largely drawn from the almost inexhaustible supply found in the great 
Dismal Swamp, which, with its picturesque lake, occupies the southwest corner 
of the county. 

2d. Manufacturing of fertilizers— four establishments, with a capital of §390,000 
and two hundred employees. 

3d. Fish and oyster catcliing and packing, with $400,000 capital and two thou- 
sand employees. 

4th. Brick making— capital $40,000, one hundred and fifty employees. 

5th. Miscellaneous, with several thousand employees, including the United 
States navy yard. 

Therefore, in summing up, we can say to those who are seeking homes, that 
Norfolk county is located on one of the finest harbors in the world ; is ten to 
twenty-five feet above sea level; is twelve or fifteen Iiour's ride by rail or steam- 
boat of New York, Philadelplila, Baltimore and Washington cities, and in two or 
three hours of the popular seaside resorts "Old Point Comfort," "Virginia 
Beach" and "Ocean View"; is well supplied with educational and religious 
advantages ; is rich in the abundance and variety of its industries ; is progres- 
sive in its material wealth, as is evidenced by the assessor's books wliich show an 
increase of nearly one hundred per cent, in the taxable values in the last ten 
years ; is possessed of a mild climate and will compare in healthf ulness with any 



HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. ♦'^ 

.f thP tidewater counties of the southern and middle States, and lastly, can f ar- 
n sh omeTa P^^^ from ten to two hundred dollars per acre, accordn.g 

to qvX and distance from the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth. 

NORFOLK COUNTY MINERALS AT THE NEW ORLEANS EXPOSITION. 

Collected by Richard Lamb, C. 8f S. E., Norfolk, Va. 

1. Peat, from the Dismal Swamp. 

9* Siwamv Soil from the Dismal Swamp. 

I' f waJp Soil from same ; land produccs'SO to 60 bushels corn per acre. 

4*. Sar^dstor^e, found 18 feet from surface in ^^^^^^'^^^ ^^^^/J!.^^. , ,,, ^rlck- 

5. Clay and Brick Land Tiles, made from same, from George Oldfield s bnck 

'^t'oZZf^Snell, half of one, weighing 6 pounds, from eastern branch of 

^TFossifTrab, found 60 feet below the surface in excavating for dry-dock at 
U S Navy-yard, at Gosport. 

Norfolk city. 

10. Lime burned from oyster shells. 

NORTHUMBERLAND 

i. one of the five counties constituting the -Northern Neck," which lies between 
r^otmt a^d Rappahannock river« a.^ ^^^^awTt; S^^^lL'st^^^^^^^^^^ 

3 483 total 7,929. ihe surface is mostly level. The soil on the streams s a 
!;nd; on; with day sub-soil, and i. very well adapted to wheat The ndge 
ands have a light soil, ani are generally thin, but easily improved. The farm 
oroDS arl corn^ wheat, oats and green vegetables for city consumption 

Our correspondent {. this county wri.es, September 3d, 1886 : ''our lands pro- 
duce clover luxuriantly. Recently the farmers have been saving clover eed a^id 
there wUl be as much as twenty-five hundred or three thousand bushels of ,eed 

'7lmt"t"ver7*part of the county is accessible to water transportation by the 
creekTand est u'arL from the bay and Potomac, and the projected railroad from 
RTchmond the " Richmond and Chesapeake," is to have its terminus in this coun 
fv near Ve estuary of the Potomac, and the cities of Alexandria, Georgetown 
and WasMngton are largely supplied from this county with melons, fresh vege- 
tableT oy tefs fish, wild fowl and poultry. There are valuable fisheries in this 
count; -'F^h chum," or the refuse from fish-oil factories, is largely used as a 
ZmL here as wel as in many other counties of this section, especial yon 
hlirwiH! marked benefit. A recent correspondent says there are at least 700 
Lnd Ctedt the^h business. Fish chum is shipped to Charleston and other 
nlaces for making fertilizers. There are also several fertilizer manufactories in 
?ife county rwhich"incorporate the phosphate rock with fish chum) with expensive 

•^TerTartwo marine railways on Wicomico river where vessels are built and 



40 HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 

repaired with dispatcli. Many hands are employed and a large capital invested 
in these enterprises. 

Eight hundred to one thousand barrels of eggs and large quantities of turlceys 
are annually sent to market. Farmers are generally out of debt. The county 
levy is very low. There are only two bar-rooms in the county. This is a fine 
part of Virginia, and offers pleasant homes and good inducements to immigrants. 

PRINCESS ANNE 

was formed in 1691 from Norfolk county, and lies on the Atlantic ocean and 
Chesapeake bay, extending south to the Nortli Carolina line. Population — white, 
5,123; colored, 4,2G2 ; total, 9,385; area, 159,392, assessed at $1, 145,894; value of 
town lots, $9,795. 

The surface is level. The soil a sandy loam, resting on a yellow clay sub-soil, 
is easily tilled and is generally productive. The best lands are in Holland Swamp, 
Eastern Shore Swamp, and on Back bay. 

The productions are corn, oats, potatoes, trucks and fruits. A large part of 
the county is devoted to truck farming, and great quantities of vegetables and 
fruits are annually shipped to the Northern markets. Labor commands from |S 
to $12 per month. The shipments of fish, oysters and wild fowl from this county 
produce a very large revenue to the citizens of the county. Tlie fisheries on Cape 
Henry beach, Lynnhaven bay and river are very valuable. Lynnhaveu bay 
oysters are renowned for their size and fine flavor. 

Tiie timber consists of oak, pine, gum, cedar, cypress, elm, holly and persimmon . 
The "Seaboard district," comprising the northeast angle of the county, is per- 
haps the best timbered region of lower Virginia. 

The transportation facilities are ample and convenient to all parts. The ocean 
front is about twenty-three miles in extent ; Back bay and North river are both 
navigable, and comprise a great extent of water fronts in the southern part, while 
the northern portions have the Eastern Branch and Elizabeth river, Lynnhaven 
river and the bay shore. Besides these facilities for market by water, there is the 
Virginia Beach railroad from Norfolk, passing across the county to a beautiful 
and most attractive watering place, called " Virginia Beach," on the Atlantic 
shore. 

With good lands, easily tilled, abimdant supplies from the water, cheap and 
convenient access to market, and a climate both pleasant and salubrious, it would 
seem that here is a place where all should be prosperous and contented. 

PRINCE GEORGE 

was formed in 1702 from Charles City. Population — white, 3,255; colored, 
6,799; total, 10,054; area, 180,208 acres, valued at $952,160; value of town lots, 
$5,065. 

The surface is generally level, and the soil on the rivers is very fine. Its north 
and northwest boundaries are formed by the James and Appomattox rivers, which 
give over forty miles of deep-water frontage to this county. The lands on these 
rivers are noted for fertility. Many broad and fertile bottoms are found on the 
numerous tributaries of these two rivers, on Blackwater river, and on the tribu- 
taries of Nottoway river in the southern portions. 

The productions are wheat, corn, oats, hay, peanuts, cotton and tobacco. The 
liglit, warm lands of the southern portions of the county are well adapted to the 
peanut and cotton. 



HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 41 

Marl of various sorts is abundant, and has been extensively used with good re- 
sults. Near Coggin's Point, and at other places, is found the valuable green sand 
marl; and this is tlie locality where the late Edininid Ruffln conducted many of 
his experiments in the use of marl and demonstrated its value. 

The facilities for reaching market are convenient to all parts of this county, and 
are furnished by the navigable rivers alluded to above, and by the Norfolk and 
Western railroad, passing through the central portion, with a branch road from 
the city of Petersburg, near its western boundary, to City Point, at the conlluence 
of the Appomattox and James, and by the Petersburg and Weldon railroad, a 
link in the great coast-line, which skirts the western border of this county from 
Petersburg to Rowanty creek. City Point is a shipping point of some consequence, 
with a sufficient deptli of water at its wharves for the largest class of vessels, and 
was used as a base of supplies for the United States troops during the siege of 
Petersburg. 

Much fine timber and cord-wood are shipped from this county to the Nortli. 

The lands of Prince George are well-adapted to fruit culture, especially the 
grape, and encouraging progress is being made in this direction. A valued cor- 
respondent, living in the vicinity of the courthouse, says: "I know of about 9 
(nine) acres in vineyards between here and Petersburg. One party commenced 
about seven years ago, and has extended his vineyard to eight acres, and is making 
a great deal of money — lias refused $8,000 for his place that he gave $1,500 for, and 
the vineyard has been the cause of it." 

RICHMOND 

was formed in 1692 from old Rappahannock. Is thirty miles long and about seven 
miles wide. It lies on the north bank of Rappahannock river, which is navigable 
here for large vessels, and is watered by Rappahannock river, Moratico creek. 
Farnham creek, Totrisky creek, Rappahannock creek, Menokin creek, and others; 
water-power good and ample. The low grounds are very fertile, producing fine 
crops of corn, wlieat, oats and vegetables. The upper or forest lands are rolling, 
and the soil is a light sandy loam with red clay subsoil, susceptible of a high state 
of improvement, and is worth, at present prices, from $5 to $20 per acre. The 
river along its front abounds in fish and oysters, tlie shad and herring fisheries 
being very productive and profitable. The oysters are of choice quality, as are the 
fish and wild fowl, and hundreds of thousands of dollars are brought to the county 
in exchange for these products. 

Warsaw, the courthouse, is situated about tlie centre of the county, six miles 
from the river, and contains a population of about 300. 

Population— white, 3,810; colored, 3,389; total, 7,199. Number of acres of 
land, 116,322, assessed at $602,373. 

There are 38,843 acres in timber of oak, hickory, chestnut, pine, cedar, walnut, 
poplar, dogwood and maple. 

Acreage in wheat, 4 2G6 ; oats, 500 ; buckwheat, 75 ; potatoes, 200 ; clover, 
2,133 ; orchard grass, 200 ; in orchard, 1,277— in apples, peaches, pears, plums, 
apricots and cherries. 

This is reported to be a good grazing country. Sheep especially are found very 
profitable. 

There are vast quantities of marl in this county, both blue and white marl 
whi2h has been used with good effect. 

Tlie winters are mild, cuhivation of soil easy and cheap, living abundant and 
3 



42 HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 

easily obtained, and access to market very conrenient. Altogether this is a very 
desirable county. 

There ia daily communication with Baltimore, Fredericksburg and Norfolk by 
a line of fine steamers, and the Richmond and Chesapeake railroad, now in course 
of construction, will pass through the county. Richmond county is out of debt 
and has a surplus in the treasury, while her public buildings, bridges and roads 
are kept in ^ood repair. Good farm labor is to be had at $8 to $10 per month ; 
mechanics, $1.50 to $2 per day. This is an improving section, and the people are 
prosperous and contented, as our correspondent well says. 

SOUTHAMPTON 

was formed in 1784 from Isle of Wight. The surface is level and the soil pro- 
ductive. It is watered by Meherrin, Nottoway and Blackwater rivers, which 
furnish broad and fertile low-lands and a good supply of fish. 

Population — white, 7,507 ; colored, 10,565 ; Indian, 22 ; total, 18,094. Number 
of acres of land, 373.376 ; assessed at $1,701,734 ; value of town lots, $14,404. 

The principal productions are corn, cotton, peanuts, trucks and potatoes. Soil 
a light sandy loam, with red clay subsoil. Marl exists in the county, and has 
been used successfully, though not extensively. The Seaboard and Roanoke 
railroad runs through the southern portion of the county, and the Norfolk and 
Western passes near its northern limits. There is much valuable timber, as oak, 
pine, chestnut, &c. 

Southampton is amongst the most thriving counties of tliis prosperous section 
of Virginia. The population is intelligent and industrious, and her principal 
staples — cotton and peanuts — skilfully handled, have brought much money into 
the community. This is the banner county in the State in the production of 
cotton, between five and six thousand bales being sent to market annually. 

SURRY 

is one of the oldest counties In the State, being just opposite Jamestown, the cra- 
dle of the Colony. It has James river for its northern boundary, and the Black- 
water for a portion of its southern, and contains 163,313 acres of land, valued at 
$862,085.97; value of town lots, $12,014. The population in 1880 was— white, 
2,386; colored, 4,559; total, 7,395, now estimated at 8,500. 

The lands are level and slightly rolling. The principal products are corn, 
wheat, oats, peanuts, lumber and fire wood for northern markets. About two- 
thirds of the county is in timber, principally pine, white oak, hickory, poplar, 
beech, walnut, persimmon, cypress, holly and the gums are found in abundance. 
Lands sell at from $2 to $20 per acre. Yield of principal crops without manur- 
ing— wiieat 12 bushels per acre, oats 15, potatoes 75, peanuts 20 to 60, corn 15. 

All kinds of fruiti are cultivated with success. Among the orchards is that of 
the Old Dominion Fruit Growing Company on James river, consisting of 27,000 
standard Bartlett pear trees. Though the crop was generally short this season, 
the company is said to have realized $9,000 clear this year. 

OHXTROHES AND BCHOOLS. 

The county has twenty two churches— three Episcopal, nine Methodist, eight 
Baptist and two Christian; and twenty-four public schools— fourteen white and 
ten colored— with au average sessioa of six and one-half months. 



HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 43 



OLABEMONT COLONY. 



Claremont. the easteru terminus of the Atlantic and Danville railroad, is a col- 
ony settled since 1880 by northern people. A northern capitalist bought the old 
Allen estate of 12,500 acres, and divided it into small farms. About three hun- 
dred families have settled there. 

The town of Claremont, incorporated the last session of the legislature, now 
has about three hundred population, four hotels, two newspapers, two churches, 
and another being built, and some eighteen or twenty business houses, school- 
house, money order postofflce, two daily mails, two trains daily, and four Imes 
of steamboats. 

RAILROADS. 

The Atlantic and Danville railroad, to run from Danville to Claremont, a dis- 
tance of 165 miles, has fifty-five miles in operation. The road will cross the 
counties of Greensville, Brunswick, Mecklenburg, Halifax and Pittsylvania, all 
of which, except the latter, have subscribed to its stock. Fourteen miles of the 
road is in Surry, and has increased the assessment of lands in that section of the 
county $100,000 from 1880 to 1885. The company runs a steamer from its wharves 
at Claremont to Petersburg, a distance of fifty miles. 

The Surry, Sussex and Southampton railroad, now building, will have its water 
terminus in this county, and twenty miles of its line will be in the county, pass- 
ing through the countv seat. About ten miles of this road are compleced, and a 
large force of hands are now grading and laying track. By the first of Novem- 
ber, 1886, all of the road in this county will be in operation. 
•The Surry Lumber Company has eleven miles of narrow gauge road connecting 
with the Atlantic and Danville railroad at Spring Grove. 

The Surry and Smithfield railroad was chartered by the last legislature to run 
through the finest trucking section in the county to Smithfield in Isle of Wight 
county. When built it will open up a large section to market gardening for New 
York and Philadelphia markets. 

Other shipping facilities are the James river, which forms the northeastern 
boundary of the county, on which ply daily the steamers of the Petersburg Steam- 
boat company, the Virginia Steamboat company, the Old Dominion Steamboat 
and Excursion company, and the Steamer George Law, touching at all the 
wharves, of which there are six in the county ; and the Norfolk and Western rail- 
road, which passes on the southern side of the county. 

MARL. 

Marl exists in great abundance and is very accessible. The table below will 
give an idea of its value as a fertilizer. Wherever applied it has never failed to 
produce most excellent results. All parts of the county near the river have it 
cropping out of the hillsides. Away from the river it is dug. 



44 



HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 



Analysis of Miocene Marls.* 



Localities. 


Observation. 


Per ct. 
Carb. 
Lime. 


Booth's Mill, Terrapin creek. 


Yellow marl, shells in sandy clay, with 
a little green sand 


32.7 


Jos. Pretlow, Terrapin rnn... 


Yellowish ^ray marl, shells in silicious 
sand, with little green sand 


22.3 


BJaokwater, nr. Wall's bridge. 


Shells in a yellow, sandy clay, consider- 
able green sand 


37.0 


Three or four miles above") 
Four Mile tree j 


Fragments of shplls slightly mixed with 
green sand 


47.2 


Near Four Mile tree 


Fragments of shells and undecomposed 
shells .' 






88.6 


Mr. Allen's Claremont , 


Yellowish white, fine and friable 


71.5 


Wakefield (Claremont) 


Light shells, generally decomposed — 
green sand, a trace 






51.1 


Claremont, (river shore) 


Blue, largely intermixed with green 
sand 


10.2 


Courtliousc 


Bank made up of shells and much green 
sand 






72.9 


Bacon's castle 


White pulverulent 


97.7 









♦PromRuffln's "Calcareous Manures." 
SUBBY COUNTY MINERALS AT THE NEW ORLEANS EXPOSITION. 

1. Yellow marl, from Blair Pegram — Va. Department of Agriculture. 

2. Serpula, a mass of fossils from near Surry courthouse, from Richard Lamb, 
C. & S. E. , 

SUSSEX 



was formed in 1754 from Surry, the Blackwater river being the boundary between 
the two counties. By this river and its branches Sussex is watered in the north- 
eastern parts, while tlie Nottoway meanders through the heart of the county, 
with many tributaries joining the main stream horo. 

Number of acres 3')1.877, assessed at $1,027,193. Population— white, 3,361 ; 
colored, G,701 ; total, 10,062. 

The soil of Sut^sex, like that of the adjoining counties, is light in general, and is 
very productive on the streams. The crops for which it is be?t suited, and wh'ch 
are most cultivated, are peanuts, cotton, corn and oats. Marl is abundant, and 
has been used with very fine eflect. 

This county has fine railroad facilities, the "Norfolk and Western" passing 
through it in the northeast, the " Petersburg and Weldon" in the west, and the 



HAND-BOOK OP VIRGINIA. 46 

" Atlantic and Danville " from northeast to southwest, through Its largest diame- 
ter. The construction of the last-named road has given a great impetus to the 
business of the county. 

WARWICK, 

now almost the smallest county In the State in area, and the smallest iti popula- 
tion, was one of the eight original shires, and was densely peopled ; there were in 
this little county six parishes. It contains 44,076 acres, assessed at $437,857 ; 
value of town lots $23,029. 

The surface is lev«;l and the soil productive. The average yield of wheat is 
said to be 15 bushels, of corn 2G, of oats 35 bushels— if so, it is far above the aver- 
age of the State. The land is easily cultivated and very improvable — and there 
are large deposits of excellent marl. Fisli, oysters and wild fowl are abundant. 

The population of Warwick was, in 1880, only 2,264 ; but since that time the 
extension of the Chesapeake and Ohio railway to Newport News, in the south- 
eastern angle of this county, has made an immense dillerence in tlie status of 
Warwick, Newport News having grown to be an important shipping point — re- 
sorted to by ocean steamers. Tills is, perhaps, the best coaling station on the 
continent — and there is here a grain elevator with a capacity of 1,500,000 bushels, 
and wharves on a grand scale, with depth of water to accommodate the largest 
ships that float. 

WARWICK COUNTY MINERALS AT THE NEW ORLEANS EXPOSITION. 

Case of bottles of borings from Artesian well, 630 feet deep, at Newport News. 
They represent the Quaternary and Tertiary beds of Virginia, and probably 
extend into the Jurasso Cretaceous : loaned by C. W. Smith, general manager 
of the Chesapeake and Ohio railway. 

WESTMORELAND 

is bounded by Potomac and Rappahannock rivers, and counties of King George, 
Richmond and Northumberland. Average length thirty miles, width ten miles. 
Number of acres 142,896, assessed at $872,644; value of town lots, $36,935; pop- 
ulation, 8,849. , 

The surface is generally level, but broken and hilly about the sources of the 
streams. Soil good, light loam resting upon red clay — in some sections the red clay 
reaches the surface. Lt is well watered ; pure springs abound, and very good well 
water is in easy reach. Numerous tributaries of the Potomac penetrate inland for 
some miles, furnishing tfood steamboat navigation. Regular lines of boats give 
access almost daily to Washington and Baltimore. These inlets abound, in oysters, 
fish and wild fowl. 

A third of its surface is woodland. In many parts are found pine, four or five 
varieties of oak, hickory, cedar, chestnut, locust, poplar and gum. Valuable 
white oak is only found, however, in small detached parcels. Many orchards of 
fruit — peaches, apples and plume — are found. Corn, wheat and clover are the 
staple products. Winter oats are cultivated profitably. Potatoes, sweet and 
Irish, grow well. The soil is very fine for all varieties of vegetables, and trucking 
is increasing. Orchard grass and timothy are being introduced. Their cultiva- 
tion, and raising clover seed for market, are decided successes. Good land yields 
from 10 to 35 bushels of wheat ; from 25 to 50 bushels of corn ; from one and a 
half to two tons hay. 



46 HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 

The prices of land range from $3 per acre up to $30. 

Good public schools, 22; several private schools; churches, 20— Baptist 9, 
Methodist 5, Episcopalian 6. 

There is some immigration to this county, chiefly from the States; the popula- 
tion is homogeneous ; society refined and cultivated ; crimes of very rare occur- 
rence; homicides almost unknown. 

Lands are easy of cultivation ; capable of sustaining a population ten times as 
numerous as that it now has. Manners of the people simple and unostentatious. 
Cost of living, owing to kindly soil and good climate, and abundant supply of 
oysters, crabs and fish from its waters, is perhaps as low as in any section of the 
Union. 

Unbounded supplies of fertilizing material lie in large measure unused on every 
farm. Marl in many location?, marsh mud and oyster-shell lime are within easy 
reach of every industrious farmer. 

Increased attention is being paid to sheep husbandry. Flocks of sheep average 
from $2.50 up to $6 per head of annual profit. Cattle do well— oxen often weigh 
1,000 pounds at four or five years old, fed in winter upon dry fodder only, and then 
upon the natural grasses of the county. 

The head streams of the estuaries or creeks aflTord fine water-power. Saw and 
grist-mills are found all throughjjthe county. 

Men from any section coming to share our fortunes are gladly welcomed. — Cor* 
respondent. 

YORK. 

This county, like its neighbor, Warwick, is one of the original shires of the 
colony. It is a long, narrow county, lying along the south bank of York river and 
extending to Chesapeake bay and the estuary of Back river, with a large water 
front and intersected by numerous tidal creeks. It contains 70,982 acres, assessed 
at $564,104. Population — white, 2,837 ; colored, 4,512 ; total, 7,349. This county 
is abundantly supplied with fish, oysters and wild fowl. Deer and other game are 
plentiful, as indeed is to be said of the adjoining counties. 

The surface of this region is generally level, the soil inclined to be sandy, easy 
of cultivation, productive when well managed, and responds readily to improve- 
ment. Marl is abundant, and tells wherever applied. 

Corn, wheat, oats and peanuts have been the staple crops.* Since the extension 
of the Chesapeake and Ohio railway, which skirts the southwestern edge of this 
county, much of the land has been brought into quick and easy communication 
with Newport News and the great markets of the North, and a more diversified 
style of farming is now rendered possible, and will soon be found to be very pro- 
fitable. 

YOfeK COUNTY MINERALS AT THE NEW OBLEANS EXPOSITION. 

1. Peetens, scallop shells, bank of York river; Va, Dept. Agriculture. 

2. Marls, fossils, corals, tertiary limestone cut into millstone, from bluffs of 
York river near Yorktown. 

The following were collected by Richard Lamb, C. & S. E. : 
- 3. Miocene marl, white, pulverulent, 90 per cent, lime carbonate, from near 
Yorktown. 

4. Clay and iron oxide, maisive, sub-crystaline, from " York Cliffs." 

5. Shells, fossil and recent, from "York Cliffs." 



HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 47 



MIDDLE VIRGINIA. 



The next, as we go westward, is tlie " Middle Division," comprising tile coun- 
try from Tidewater to the low range of mountains parallel to the Blue Ridge and 
about twenty miles distant from it. This outlying range extends from Loudoun 
to Pittsylvania, with somewhat irregular intei-vals and direction, but with a gen- 
eral conformity to the course of the Blue Ridge. 

It may be observed here that the respective limits of the "Grand Divisions " of 
the State assigned by various authorities are not positively defined, but vary ac- 
cording to the point of view from which the subject is regarded. For instance, 
Hotchkiss, subordinating other considerations to the geological formation of the 
country, assigns to "Middle Virginia" the four counties of Stafford, Prince Wil- 
liam, Fairfax and Alexandria, They belong for the most part to the archsean or 
primary formation, although they skirt the Potomac and are intersected to some 
extent by tidal creeks. 

For the latt«r reason, Maury assigns them to the Tidewater Division. Further 
south, the counties of Caroline and Hanover, which are assigned to the Tidewa- 
ter Division, are in part in the archajan formation, and vice versa the county of 
Chesterfield, which is classed with the "Middle Division," has a tidal front of 
fifty miles on James and Appomattox rivers, and a considerable border of purely- 
alluvial land ; but by far the greater part of its territory is in the archsean, to 
which it is assigned. And the " low range of mountains " spoken of as making 
the line between Middle Virginia and Piedmont does not conform exactly with 
the county boundary lines, so that many of the counties have part of their terri- 
tory overlapping the a7Jjoining division ; but they are properly assigned to the one 
in which the greater part is comprehended. 

The classification of Hotchkiss will be adhered to here. 

Thus reckoned, " Middle Virginia " consists of twenty-five counties, and con- 
tains between twelve and thirteen thousand square miles, or nearly a third of the 
State. As said, this is a primary formation, resting for the most part on granite 
and gneiss, but here and there on the new red sandstone, and the soil varies wide- 
ly. Here is the great tobacco region of Virginia— the lands of the upper and 
lower Jurassic period or new red sandstone being especially adapted to the finer 
qualities. This formation is identical with that of Lancaster county, Pa., and the 
lower Connecticut Valley, where the cultivation of seed leaf tobacco has enriched 
the community to an almost incredible degree. A strip of the former (the " upper 
Jurassic") extends along the line of the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac 
railroad almost its entire lenth. Considerable sections of the lower Jurassic are 
found in Pittsylvania, Halifax, Campbell, Appomattox,'Prince Edward, Cumber- 
land, Buckingham, Albemarle, Chesterfield, Henrico, Orange, Culpeper, Fauquier, 
Loudoun, Prince William and Fairfax. 



48 HAND-BOOK OP VIRGINIA. 

These older " Mesozoic " areas are aptly described by Hotchkiss in the Virginias 
as islands in the arcbrean region of Midland and Piedmont Virginia. Professor 
Fontaine says of them : ''They are all situated east of the Blue Ridge, and most 
of them are found in the terrane of the crystalline azoic rocks. They lie in the 
eroded and upturned azoic strata, and are formed out of the material yielded by 
them. They lie in narrow strips isolated from each other, and seem to have been 
deposited in fresh, or at most, brackish water. Some of these areas were at some 
period in their history in the form of marshes, or had such a character as to per- 
mit the formation of an abundant vegetation and the accumulation of a consid- 
erable amount of coal. In Virginia, coal is found only in those areas that lie far- 
thest east " 

Those in which coal is found arc the Richmond and the Cumberland areas. But 
it is of their value in an agricultural point of view tiiat I would speak more par- 
ticularly here — of their fitness for the production of choice tobacco. Much has 
been said of the unprofitableness of tobacco— of the sure and rapid imporerish- 
ment of the lands in which it is grown. That it has tended to produce that re- 
sult, indirectly, is undeniable — but that this result is the necessary consequence 
of tobacco-raising is certainly not true. Even in Virginia, where the system is, 
or has been, of the very worst, instances can be shown of steady improvement of 
farms on which large crops of tobacco are grown— and, in the Northern States, 
whole communiiies can be pointed to as evidence that tobacco-growing does no< 
necessirily exhaust the fertility of a country. There is, perhaps, no part of the 
United States more prosperous than Lancaster county. Pa. — the largest tobacco- 
growing county of the Union. Land there sells at prices almost fabulous, when- 
ever, by any chance, it is put upon the market. 

Other instances might be cited — in Connecticut, New York, Wisconsin. These 
people are prosperous because they believe in high farming — in getting large re- 
turns from the land, both in quantity of crop and in quality. The tobacco they 
make — the "seed-leaf," for cigar-wrappers — gives a heavy yield, and is eagerly 
sought after by buyers at prices that leave a large profit. 

Tiiis digression is to the point in calling attention again to the important fact 
that these " islands," just described — these large " areas," scattered through Vir- 
ginia — are of the same character of soil with the great county of Lancaster — that 
the climate of Virginia is as good for tobacco-growing — perhaps better — and that 
the land can be bought for a tenth— nay, a twentieth— of the price. 

Middle Virginia is an undulating country — hills, table-lands and interrales — 
living springs and never-failing water courses everywhere. The soils vary greatly 
— the bottom lands generally very fertile, and the up-lands are often very produc- 
tive, especially when the rocks contain epidote and some varieties of horn blende. 
The irregular limestone formation along the western borders of Middle and the 
eastern of Piedmont does not make a characteristic soil except in a few localities. 
Here and there the soils are exceedingly fertile, as in parts of Orange, Culpeper, 
and Loudoun, which counties are assigned to " Piedmont," although part of their 
territory belongs of right to the '' Middle Division." 

The productions of this region are varied. Tobacco has been mentioned as the 
staple of a large part of tliis division of the State, but its cultivation is by no 
means universal — in many counties it is not grown at all. Everywhere the cereals 
and fruits of temperate climates, notably the apple and grape, grow in perfection; 
and while we have not yet reached the grazing sections proper, we find clover, 
timothy, orchard and other grasses growing here and there in great luxuriance; 
and they show a natural adaptation to grass, which, however, so far from having 



HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 49 

been encouraged, has persistently been thwarted — fought against — from the first 
settlement of the country until recently. ''Killing grass" has been the object 
kept steadily in yiew in growing tobacco and Indian corn, and with the large force 
of slaves inhabiting this region, was so etlectually done that it came to be believed 
by many that the valuable forage and pasture grasses would not grow here, despite 
the fact that " bine grass " — "poa-compressa " (the true '' blue grass ")— the iden- 
tical grass which is so highly valued in F luquier and Loudoun for making fat pas- 
tures — is the grass which has given the planters mo*t trouble to keep undt^r, which 
has mad« such a struggle for existence that it has never been extirpated in this 
region ; but, where it has half an opportunity, will assert its rights and wiU take 
possession of the land, crowding out wheat or whatever may, at the time, be in 
occupancy. 

Clover has long been successfully grown here ; and the idea that timothy, or- 
chard grass, (fee, would not succeed has been disproved by the logic of facts — 
there is scarcely a county in this region in which there are not meadows that would 
compare favorably with the best anywhere ; few though they be, they demonstrate 
the possibility. The renovation of this healthful and most improvable region will 
be brought about by clothing a large portion of the country with meadow and 
pasture grasses. 

FOREST GROWTH. 

The "Sylva " gradually changes as we ascend from the Tidewater Division to 
Piedmont. The cypress disappears, the long-leaf pine ceases to grow after the 
first tier of counties is passed, and the cedar and holly, the gum and willow oak, 
become more and more infrequent. The short-leaf or hard yellow pine furnishes 
its valuable timber in every part of Middle Virginia, but does not take exclusive 
possession of large tracts of land as in Tidewater, except where it is found as 
" second growth " on lands which have been cultivated and then turned out to 
grow up again. There it takesihe place of the genuine '' loblolly " or old field 
pine of Tidewater — the long-leaf vaiiety — the "pinus taeda" of Botanists. In 
the forests of Middle Virginia the pine (short-leaf, yellow, and two other varieties 
too rare to deserve a description) grows along with the various oaks, the tulip 
tree, hickory, walnut, locust, maple, ash and other timber of minor importance ; 
and on the streams sycamore, beech, birch, willow and maple. At some distance 
from the mountains we again find chestnut in large quantities. In fine, the forest 
growth of this section is of singular variety, beauty and value. 

MINERALS. 

The mineral resources of this region are very great. Besides the coal of the 
mesozoic areas of Richmond and Farmville, heretofore alluded to, this country 
yields gold, silver, copper and iron ores in great variety and abundauce, and for 
architectural purposes fine gray granite, gneiss and brown stone, Potomac or 
brecciated marble, and the finest slate for roofing purposes ; also mica, kaolin and 
asbestos and limestone. 

Sulphurets of iron are abundant in Louisa county and have been shipped in 
large quantities. They are rich in sulphur — one sample having analyzed 52.73 
per cent. 

Another deposit contained 43 per cent, of sulphur, and 5.89 per cent, of copper. 
These are found in that remarkable formation known as the "gold belt " of Vir- 
ginia — ^a atrip of land from fifteen to twenty miles in breadth, and running for two 
hundred miles through the State. The rocks of this belt are the slates, traps, 



50 HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 

steatites, &c., of the primary, dipping at liigli angles, generally to the east. In- 
terstratified with these are numerous veins of gold bearing quartz, magnetic, 
hematite, and specular iron ores, and the sulphurets of copper (and of iron) refer- 
red to. 

Large amounts of s;old have been taken from this belt — some of it from surface 
washings. 

The veins of iron ore are numerous, some of the magnetic ores having a thick- 
ness of four feet ; the beds of hematite ore, particularly those upon either border 
of the belt, as along James river, where it runs parallel with it, and in the " Wil- 
derness," near the Rappahannock, are very thick and extensive. The first suc- 
cessful furnaces in America, those of the colonial Governor Spotswood, were sup- 
plied from the latter beds. ^ 

Tliere are also large beds of this ore where the Chesapeake and Ohio railway 
crosses the belt. In this vicinity the valuable sulphurets of iron and copper are 
found, and there will soon be large sulphuric acid works and a manufactory of 
fertilizers here, turning out copper and iron as by-products. 

The slates of the middle country are excellent for all purposes, notably those of 
Buckingham and Amherst counties. In Buckingham they have been long and 
extensively quarried for roofing, flagging, mantles, &c. The sandstone of the 
imposed "middle secondary " are valuable for building pusposes, as are also the 
" brownstones " of the rod sandstone, which are extensively quarried at Manassas. 
The infusorial earth, so abundant in Richmond, is valuable as a polishing material. 
Ochre of very fine quality is found in Chesterfield, near Bermuda Hundred, and 
is being shipped from that point. 

RAILROADS. 

This country is favored in respect of means of transportation, railroads pene- 
trating it in every direction. The great " coast line," which passes through the 
State from Washington to Weldoa close to the divide between Middle Virginia 
and Tidewater, almost on the line between the archtoan and the tertiary forma- 
tions — sometimes in one and sometimes in the other — belongs equally to both. 
From Washington and Alexandria ray out, the Washington, Ohio and Western, 
and the Virginia Midland, with its various branches ; from Fredericksburg, the nar- 
row gauge to Orange C. H. ; from Richmond, the Chesapeake and Ohio stretches 
out through Henrico, Hanover and Louisa into Piedmont, and thence to the Ohio 
and beyond ; and the Alleghany, along the beautiful valley of James river through 
Middle Virginia into Piedmont and Appalachia. The Richmond and Danville 
road penetrates this part of Virginia for a hundred and fifty miles before passing 
into North Carolina, and sends out a branch at Keysville and another at Suther- 
lin. The Brighthope road from Bermuda Hundred taps the coal region at Clover 
Hill, twenty-odd miles away. At Petersburg, the Norfolk and Western road 
passes from Tidewater into Middle Virginia, ^nd after a course of more than a 
hundred and twenty miles in this division, strikes out southwest through Pied- 
mont and the Valley to the Tennessee line at Bristol. The " Atlantic and Dan- 
ville " is in course of construction from the point to which it is now completed, 
Hicksford, in Greensville county, to Danville and beyond ; and the southern link 
of the Virginia Midland extends from Lynchburg to Danville with a branch from 
Elba Station into Franklin county. All these roads intersect this division of Vir- 
ginia, and there are others projected, and probably soon to be built. 



HAND'BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 51 



WATER. 

This is marvellously Avell watered iTgion— a land of living springs and peren- 
nial water-courses, rivers, creeks and brooks. Tlie eastern edge of the belt has 
been described as " a granite rim rising some 200 feet above the tide waters, set- 
ting bounds to their further flow inward, furnisliing fine water-power by the fall- 
ing of the rivers over it, and sites for commercial and manufacturing towns. In 
every part of the "Middle Country" there is abundance of water — it would be 
hard to find a field in which there are not springs or brooks— and sites for mills 
are nowhere far to seek. 

Most valuable mineral waters are found in this region. The litliia springs of 
" Buffalo," in Mecklenburg, have long had a wide reputation, and the more re- 
cently discovered lithia and other springs near Farmville, and at " Wolftrap," in 
Halifax, are rapidly becoming known throughout the country, l^e sulphur 
springs in Powhatan (Huguenot) and in Amelia were once much resorted to. 

A recently discovered well at Chase city, in Mecklenburg county, where is a 
colony of Englishmen, furnishes a water which is said to hi^ve made some re- 
markable cures of dyspepsia. 

HEAI/THFULNESS. 

Except in limited localities in and near certain water courses, where malarial 
diseases prevail to some extent, this is an exceptionally healthy region, perhaps 
as favorable to longevity as any part of America — we might almost say '• of the 
world." 



52 



HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 



MIDDLE VIRGINIA BY COUNTIES. 



GROUPINQ IN NATURAL SUB-DIVISIONS. COUNTIEB. 

NORTHSIDE GROUP. 

f Fairfax. 

■n ^ T, • Alexandria. 

Potomac Basin -!^ p^j^^^ William. 

9 L Stafford. 
Pamunkey Basin {loS!^*"'^' 

, „ . fFluvaniia. 

James Basin ^ Goochland. 

SOUTHSIDE GROUP. 

f Buckingham. 
I Cumberland. 

James- Appomattox Basin..., ■{ Powhatan. 

I Chesterfield. 
(.Appomattox. 

. ii T> • /Prince Edward. 

Appomattox Basm \ Amelia. 

^T xi T. • /Dinwiddie. 

Nottoway Basm \ Nottoway. 

{Lunenburg. 
Brunswick. 
Greensville. 

r Campbell. 
I Charlotte. 

Roanoke Basin -j Pittsylvania. 

Halifax. 
[ Mecklenburg. 

In the following brief description the counties are arranged in alphabetical 
order, as before, for convenience of reference. 



HAND-BOOK OP VIRGINIA. 53 



MIDDLE VIRGINIA BY COUNTIES, 



ALEXAN DRIA 

wae originally a part of Fairfax. Having been ceded to the General Government 
as a porlion of the District of Columbia, and retroceded to Virginia in 1847, it was 
organized into a county. The area is very small, being only ten miles long and 
five miles wide, with 18,421 acrei=, assessed at $796,578. The population, includ- 
ing Alexandria city, is 17,540 — white, 9,972; colored, 7,574. 

This county lies along the south band of the Potomac river, with the District 
of Columbia, containing the Federal Capitol, Washington city, and Georgetown, 
on the opposite bank. The county seat is the very considerable town of Alexan- 
dria, on the Potomac, which has a population of about 14,000. 

The commercial advantages of Alexandria city and county are unsur- 
passed, the facilities for shipping and means of access to market being all that 
could be desired. The river, here a mile wide, is navigable for the largest vessels, 
with a depth of thirty-6ve feet at the wharves. 

Alexandria is admirably situated for manufacturing purposes, being near the 
mines of coal and iron and on a deep river. The Alexandria and Fredericksburg, 
Virginia Midland, Washington and Ohio, and Washington and Alexandria 
railroads all centre here, and the Alexandria canal, connecting with the Chesa- 
peake and Ohio, forms a water line to Cumberland, 187 miles above; transporta- 
tion is therefore cheap and expeditious. The decay of foreign trade, congf^quent 
upon its concentration through the influence of steam in a few great cities, has 
left a large number of warehouses unoccupied. The.«e can be purchased or rented 
at very low rates for manufacturing purposes, and many of them have wharf 
privileges and a railroad in front of them. Clay for brick-making is abundant, 
and four extensive brick yards, are now in successful operation ; and there is an 
abundant supply of excellent sand for building purposes, while limestone is 
brought to the kilns very cheaply by the canal. 

The city is being improved every year by the erection of a hundred or more 
buildings, many of them handsome brick ones, yet rents are low and lots cheap. 

School facilities are excellent. Besides the public schools, which employ twenty, 
six teachers and educated last year 1,650 children in eight grades, there are more 
private schools for the population than in almost any city in the Union. I 
may name St. John's Academy, a military school, which had last year patronage 
from fourteen States and Territories; Potomac Academy, another flourishing in- 
stitution for young men ; St. Mary's Academy, Arlington Institute, Mount Ver- 
non Institute, the Alexandria Female Seminary, and other excellent schools of 
high grade for young ladies, besides Catholic and Lutheran parish schools, and 
many private schools for children of both sexes. 



54 HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 

Church accommodations are also abundant. There are five Methodist churches, 
three Episcopal, three Presbyterian, one Catholic, one Baptist and one Lutheran, a 
Friends' meeting house and Jewish synagogue, for white people, and seven Bap- 
tist, one Methodist and one Epijcopal for colored — in all twenty-four places 
of worship, one for every six hundred people. The place is quiet and orderly, 
and its morality is decidedly above the average- 
It has^ a very full supply of the finest and purest water, so pure that the re- 
agents which blacken ordinary hydrant water elsewhere, do not affect its trans- 
parency*, and its fire department is unexcelled in the country for its efficiency. 

Its health is excellent ; it iias not suffered from any pestilence since the begm- 
ning of the century, even the cholera touching: it very lightly in 1832, and 
pasping it by in all its other visitations. One of the schools, with fifty students 
boarding in it, has had but two death, a teacher and a pupil, in more than 
half a century, and advertised one yeir that its physician's bills averaged but 
twenty- five cents to each student, at full rates. 

Its nearness to Washington also adds to its advantages. There is communica- 
tion by rail or boat every half hour during the day, and several trains up to mid- 
night, at a cost almost nominal, no that the amusements and instructive collec- 
tions of that beautiful city are always within easy reach. 

The soil of this county is well suited for market gardens, and tlie proximity of 
Alexandria city and Washington give great advantages in this respect, and for 
dairy farming. Washington is rapidly becoming one of the greatest cities of the 
country, ajid lands in the vicinity are fast enhancing in value. 

AMELIA 

was formed in 1734 from Prince George. It lies on the south bank of Appo- 
mattox river, which separates it from Chesterfield, Powhatan and Cumberland 
counties, and, together with its numerous tributaries, affords ample drainage and 
extensive bottom lands. The couuty is thirty miles long and about ten miles in 
mean breadth, and contains 223,945 acres of land, valued at $907,731, Population, 
10,377— white, 3,037 ; colored, 7,340. 

The upland is gently undulating ; the soil varies from red clay to gray slate and 
sandy loam, and produces good crops of tobacco, corn, wheat, oats, rye, grass, &c. 
Tobacco is the main money crop, and its production and curing are carried to 
great perfection by intelligent and careful planters. 

Under the new order of things grass has been found to do exceedingly well in 
Amelia, and much more attention has been paid to its cultivation than formerly, 
greatly to the advantage of the farmers. . 

'•Flue-curing" has been practised here for five years past, and it has been 
found that briglit tobacco of the finest quality can be produced in Amelia. Com- 
mercial fertilizers, especially raw phosphates, are reported to act well and prove 
very remunerative here. Improved agricultural machinery is being introduced by 
enterprising farmers, and this bids fair to become again what it once was — one of 
the richest counties in the State, in proportion to population. 

The Richmond and Danville railroad passes through the centre of the county, 
and the Norfolk and Western near its southeastern border. The Appomattox 
river on the northern edge is again opened for navigation, giving access to the 
markets of Petersburg. 

''Amelia Courthouse is immediately on the line of the Richmond and Danville 
railroad, and is just thirty-six miles from Richmond. This is a growing village, 
with seven stores, a steam flouring mill, and other necessary branches of industry. 



HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 55 

Jetersville, another villae:e on the Richmond and Danville railroad, forty-three 
miles from Richmond, has four stores and other branches of business, and is a 
thriving place. These are the largest of the villages of the county. 

'* No county in the State has attracted immigration more than Amelia, owing 
doubtless to the cheapness of her lands (which range in pjice from two to twenty 
dollars per acre), and her accessibility to market and the outside world. A large 
number of English people have settled in Amelia, so that we have 'British colo- 
nies' once more in Virginia. There are several families of Hollanders, most of 
them m thriving circumstances. Michigan, Pennsylvania and Xew York are fur- 
nishing quite an immigration to this county, the former taking, however, largely 
the lead. 

"The minerals of Amelia are various. Mica is very abundant, and mines have 
been successfully and profitably worked for some years past. In the vicinity of 
the county seat are the Rutherfoord, Jefferson and Pinchback mines. Others 
exist in the same locality, not yet in operation to any extent. Kaolin 
is obtained in great quantities in connection with the mica. A mine of 
steatite or soapstone is being successfully operated a few miles from the 
county seat. A soft yellow stone exists, which has been used for making a cheap 
paint. Coal exists in the eastern part of the county, but has not up to the present 
been mined. Some gold has also been found in the eastern section of the county. 
Mineral springs of decided value, both sulphur and lithia, exist. 

"More attention is being paid to the roads and bridges of the county than here- 
tofore, and several iron bridges have recently been constructed. 

" The public schools of Amelia, growing in efficiency, compare most favorably 
with like schools in the State, and afford very fair facilities for a primary and 
business education. 

"The colored race predominates in Amelia county, yielding a class of laborers 
for farming and other purposes cheaper and more constant than any to be found 
in the United States, if not in the world. The white and black races live in amity, 
and are mutually serviceable to each other." — Correspondent. 

The following specimens were lent by Pi"of . Wm. M. Fontaine from his col- 
lection at the University of Virgmia for the New Orleans Exposition : 

I. Fotstone, which is found in large quantities. Has been used for stove backs, 
in place of fire-brick, as it is a good material to resist heat. Was cut by the In- 
dians into pots. 

Fragments of an old Indian pot, cut from the above potstone. 

3. Zircon, Feldspar and Columbite, from mica mines of Amelia. 

4. Amazon Stone, which occurs occasionally in the feldspar of the Amelia mica 
mines. 

5. Alhite Feldspar, from Amelia mica mines. 

6. Crystals of Albite, Feldspar, Quartz and Mica, from cavities in Amelia mica 
mines. 

7. Orthoclase Feldspar, tvom Amelia mica mines ; hag been shipped for manu- 
facture of porcelain. 

8. Albite F*ldspar, showing change of colors, from Amelia mica mines. 

9. Beryl Crystal, fragment of a large one, from Amelia mica mines. 

10. Mica, from Amelia mica mines. 

II. Monazite, from same. 

12. Albite Feldspar with Spessarite Garnet, from same. 



56 HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 

The following from the Virginia Department of Agriculture : 

13. Mica, from A. Rutherfoord, owner of Amelia mica mines. 

14. Mica. Hall. 

15. Kaolin, fine quality, from Amelia mica mines. 

16. Quartz, glassy, from same. 

17. Feldspar, from same. 

18. Amazon Stone, from same. 

Tlie following rare specimens from the above mines were loaned by Professor 
W. M. Fontaine : 

19. Columbite Crystals^ a large mass. 

20. Microlite Crystals, a large mass. •^ 

21. Monozitty a large crystaline mass. 

22. Monazite, partly altered, a large crystaline mass. ^ 

23. Microliie, striated by overlapping plates of mica. 

24. Monnzite, ajjgrcgated crystals. 

25. Albite Feldspar^ crystals. 

26. Albit/i Feldspar, Spessarite and Helvite. 

27. Alla/iite, a variety of Orthite. 

APPOMATTOX 

was formed in 1845 from Bnckingliam, Prince Edward, Charlotte and Campbell 
counties. It is about 26 mik^s long and 18 miles widp, and contains 210,243 acres 
of land, valued at $S07,099 ; value of towu lots, $36,935. Population — white, 
5,153 ; colored, 4,927 ; total, 10,080. It lies on the south bank of James river, 
and is well wat(^red by tributaries of that river, by the Appomattox, and some of 
the tributaries of Staunton river. 

The surface is rolling, and in some parts hilly, but the many streams give a 
large proportion of bottom land. The soil varies from a stiff red clay to gray 
slate of a li^ht and friable texture. The productions are tobacco, grain and grass. 
Tobacco is as yet mainly relied on as the money crop, and as the soil is peculiarly 
suited to the production of fine "shipping," the county is noted for the high 
grade of this class of tobacco. The timber is abundant, and of valuable kinds — 
as oak, hickory, walnut, chestnut, maple, poplar, dogwood, &c. 

The means of transportation to market are very good, and are afforded by the 
Norfolk and Western raiiroad passing through near the centre, and by the Rich- 
mond and Allegliany railroad, which skirts its northwestern border. This is a 
healthy and pleasant climate, where cheap and productive lands and agreeable 
surrounding.^ furnif^h good inducements for new settlers. 

The minerals of Appomattox are varied and valuable, to-wit : gold, iron, cop- 
per, manganese, steatite, mica, plambago, asbestos, &c., and were represented in 
part at the 

world's exposition at new ORLEANS 

by the following specimens : 

1. Limonite, from Jones & Button's mine (Nuttall), one mile from "Walker Ford 
statio'i, Richmond and Alleghany railroad. 

2. Margarite, a form of mica, from George P. Horner. 



HAND BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 57 

3. Steatite, from same. 

4. Magnetite, from same. 

6. Limonite, fibrous, from Wm. Drinkard, Stonewall creek, three miles from 
James river. 

6. Limonite, from Thomas J. Stratton. 

7. Gold-bearing Quartz, from George P. Horner. 

8. Specular Iron Ore, from same. 

9. Manganese Ore, from J. B. Moon. 

10. Specular Iron Ore, from John J. Goff, Chestnut mountain. 

11. Limonite Iron Ore, from E. M. Legrand, Chestnut mountain. 

12. Limestone, from Mrs. Martha Walker, on James river. 

The iron ores of Appomattox are almost unlimited in quantity, and are of im- 
mense value. 

» BRUNSWICK 

was formed in 1721 from Surry and Isle of Wight. It is nearly a square of about 
twenty-five miles on a side, and contains 356,892 acres, assessed at $1,150,143. 
Population— white, 6,103; colored, 10,685; total, 16,790. 

The surface of the county is undulating, and the lands are uncommonly well 
watered, having the Nottoway river on its north border, separating it from Din- 
widdle and Nottoway counties, and the Meherrin and tributaries th»ough the 
central parts, and tributaries of the Roanoke in the southern sections. The soil, 
is for the most part a sandy loam, easily worked, and very productive in wheat 
corn, cotton, peanuts and tobacco. Gypsum is said to act well on these lands, 
and they are very responsive to commercial fertilizers. This county ranks third 
in the production of cotton — 2,950 bales. 

Many fine thoroughbred horses were formerly raised in Brunswick, this county 
being within the " race-horse " region referred to in the introduction. 

The climate is mild and healthy. 

The line of the Atlantic and Danville railroad has been surveyed through the 
heart of Brunswick, and will pass by Lawrenceville, the county seat, giving quick 
and easy transportation to market. 

BUCKINGHAM 

was formed in 1761 from Albemarle ; is thirty-five miles long and twenty-four 
'miles wide, and contains 359,146 acres of land, assessed at $1,317,830 ; value of 
town lots, $155,885. Population, 15,540 ; white, 6,767 ; colored, 8,773. 

It lies on the south bank of James river, which forms its boundary on two sides 
for neaily fifty miles. The broad bottom lands on this river are of unsurpassed 
fertility. Willis river, Slate river, and many smaller tributaries of the James, 
water this county, and the Appomattox forms part of the south boundary. 

The surface is rolling and hilly, with several small mountains, as Willis, Slate 
river and Spears mountains. Tiie soil varies from stiff red clay to a gray slaty 
texture, much of it very rich. The Slate river lands are very fine, and comprise 
a considerable area, the soil resembling that of the celebrated Green Spring 
lands of Louisa county. 

The productions are tobacco, corn, wheat, oats, rye and grass. There is much 
fine tobacco produced in this county, and the planters are careful handlers of it. 
New varieties are being tried, and an effort made to improve the old kinds. 

The timber found here consists of oak, chestnut, pine, hickory, «&c., and is 
4 



68 HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA.. 

abundant. This connty is rich in minerals — iron, gold— of which many mines 
have been succdJsfiUy worked for a great many years ; barytei«, slate, asbestoi, 
mica and limestone. Slate of superior quality is mined near New Canton mor« 
extensively now than ever before, and is in groat demand all over the country. To 
accommodate the d; niand for transportation of this slate, thf-re has recently been 
built the Buckingham railroad, a branch from the Richmond and Alleghany rail- 
road from Bremo Bluff station across the James, on a new and substantial bridge, 
to the slate quarries. The construction of the railroid and bridge here mentioned, 
and of several bridges at other points, is due to the enlij<httned policy of the au- 
thorities of the Rirhmond and Alleghanj' railroad, who are doing all in their power 
to develope the country through which it passes, and all which is tributary to it, 
the counti-s lying on the south bank as well as those on the northern. The mala 
line of the road skirts the northern and western boundaries of Buckingham for 
nearly fifty miles, and affords means of transportation to market for theproduct« 
of the greater part of thf county. • 

The ft>llowing (-omewhat abridg^d) was taken from one of the papers in 1880; 
the writer was assessor ( f lands in the county, and has no interest in the mines : 
" Veins of gold, si ite and iron enter the county just above New Canton, on James 
river, passing through the county. Slate is the leading vein, from a quarter to a 
half mile wide, inexhaustible as to quantity and most excellent in its character, 
and now Jargely worked. 

*'The gold vein is from two to fifteen feet wide on the west, and there is iron 
on the eat in the greatest abundance." ***■■** 

After describing and locating ciglit gold mines which have been opened and 
worked, he adds, " I am anxious to see the great mineral resources of this county 
developed, which are equal, as I believe, to the fabulous wealth of the Bluck Hills, 
of California itself. Then let capitalists and mineralogists and geologists come 
and examine for themselves." 

The celebrated Overman (Practical Mineralogy) says : 

" We have here (in Virginia, «&c.,) a belt of gold of unparalleled extent, im- 
mense width and undoubtedly reaching to the primitive rock. * * ♦ • 

" Here is a mass of precious metal enclosed in the rock which cannot be exhausted 
for ages; and in this respect the region in question is the most important of all 
known deposits, California not excepted." — The Virginias. 

Buckingham county was represented by the following 

MINERALS AT THE NEW ORLEANS EXPOSITION. 

I. Roofing Slate, from quarry of Edwards & Roberts, near New Canton. 
J. Steatite, from two miles frum mouth of Hardware river. 

3. Goldy iu quartz, from Morrow mine. 

4. Iron Ore, from Bent Creek. 

The following were collected by E. D. Fraser, Esq. : 
6. Kaolin, from the land of M. C. Eicon. 

6. Qunrtz, micaceou?, from Willis Mountain. 

7. Gold in a molecular state, from land of T. H. Garnett, six miles south from 
tlie com thouse. 

8. Asbeitoa, from Willis Mountain. 

9. Pyrite, iron pyrites, from Willis Mountain. 

10. Gold-bearing quarts, from " Morrow" mine. 

II. Magnetite, magnetic iron ore, from land of Geo. H. Cox. 



HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. S9 

12. Stpatite. from land of T. H. Garnett, Willig Mountain. 

13. Mineral, from Willis Mountain. 

14. Cyamte, from Willis Mountain. 

15. i^choil, from Willis Mounfain. 

16. Copper Ore^ from sbaft 80 feet deep on Willis Mountaia. 

17. Scliorl, &c., from Willis Mountain. 
18 Cyanit''^ from Wilis Mountain. 

19. Gneins, from Willis Mountain. 

20. Mi' acous Sand Stone from Willig Mountain. 
21'. Gmiss with Cymi/e. from Willis Mountain. 
22. Q'lartz. from Willi, Mountain. 

83. Mica, from Willis Mountain; surface indications abundant. 

24. Htmitite Iron Ore, from Willis Mountain, from land of T. H. Garnett. 

25. Quartz crystiilinc, from near Willis Mountain. 

26. Q'laitz, crvstaline, from west of Willis Mountain. 

27. Quartz, from Willis Mountain. 

28. Quartz, crystnline, Mrs. T. H. Garnetts'B, west of Willi* Mountain. 

29. Mineral from Willii^ Mountain. 

30. Oneiss from Wcioiison Cave, Willis Mountain. 

31. Ochrovs Clay. Willis Mountain. 

32. Micaceous Eo' k, from Willis Mountain. 

33. Quartz and S;Morl, Willis Mountain. 

34. Zircon Wilis Mountain; shows in great abundance. 
85. Garnets, fnmi Willis Mountain. 

36, Quart?, crystaline, from Mrs. S. A. Hubard's, three milea east of Willig 
Mountain. 

37. Scliorl in quartz, from John A. Scruggs', half a mile west from Willi* 
Mountain. 

33. Magnetite, from land of N. B. Shepard, four miles northeast from Willis 
Mountani ; in laru;e amount. 

39. Magnetite from land of P. A. Hubard, two and a half miles north from 
Willis Mountain. 

40. Ka'lin, from Mrs. S. A. Hubard, three miles east from Willis Mountain. 

41. Magnetite, from land of Richard Davis, twelve miles east from Buciiingham 
Courthouse. 

42. Hematite Iron Ore, from Mrs. S. A. Hubard. 

43. Mica in quartz, one-half mile west from Willis Mountain. 

44 Fyrite, Iron Pyrites, from land of Mrs. S. A. Hubard, three miles east from 
Willis Mountain. 

CAMPBELL 

was formed in 1781 from Bedford. It is nearly a square of twenty-flve miles to 
a side, and contains 335 008 acres of land, assessed at $2 238.262, exclusive of 
Lynchburg:; value of town lots, $42,366. Population, including Lynchburg — 
white, 17,300; colored. 18.953; total, 36 253. 

It lies on the south bank of James river, by tributaries of which, and by Otter 
and Falling rivers and other tributaries of the Staunton, it is well watered. 
These streams give to it any quantity of water power for manufacturing pur- 
poses. 

The James and Staunton rivers, the first emptying into Chesapeake bay, and 
the latter into the Roanoke (which empties into the Aloemarle Sound), afford 



60 HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 

water transportation for a portion of the productions of this county ; but mucb 
the larger portion goes by railroads. The Virginia Midland railroad traverses it 
from north to south ; the Norfolk and Western runs through the northern section 
from east to west; and the Eiehmond and Alleghany on its north border, all 
combining to give this county peculiar advantages and facilities for markets in 
every direction. 

The surface is rolling and hilly. The soil is fertile and particularly adapted 
to the production of fine, high priced tobacco, as well as grain and grass. 
Land is valued at from four to twenty dollars per acre, and much of it is worth a 
great deal more. There is an abundance of timber of the usual growth of this 
section, a large part of the area being clothed with the original forest trees. 
Lynchburg, situated on the banks of James river, in the northern end of the coun- 
ty, is the fourth town in importance in the State, and contained in 1880 a popu- 
lation of 15,959, which has greatly increased since. The three railways which 
traverse this county cross each other here, making it a fine centre of trade. There 
are in Lynchburg eight banks and banking houses, four newspapers, four fine 
hotels, ton churches, many public and private schools, seventy tobacco factories, 
and in the suburbs two rolling mills, three foundries, two large flour mills, two 
bark and extract manufactories, and numerous other enterprises. 

The following is from a description furnished H. T. Leman, former school su- 
perintendent : 

"The formation of Campbell belongs to the azoic period, and is based on 
granite, syenite and gneiss. Some fine specimens of granite lie in the northeast- 
ern portion of the county, on James river, furnishing the finest building rock ; 
but the larger portion found in the county is syenite, from some of which good 
millstones are made. Through the middle of the county, running from east to 
west, and about two miles in width, there is a vein of " new red sandstone " over- 
lying the original formation. This is found in laminae from three to six inches 
thick, smooth surface, and is much used for building chimneys. The surface is 
generally rugged. The ridges running through the county are high, in several 
instances reaching the dignity of mountains. The soil of the higher land is a 
light, thin, gravelly loam, not very productive of itself, but yielding good crops 
with a little aid from fertilizers. The finer kinds of tobacco, wheat, corn, oats 
and grass are the remunerative crops. A vein of some eight or ten thousand 
acres of red or chocolate land, extending northeast and southwest, furnishes a fine 
soil for wheat — equal to any in the State — and with the large area of alluvial 
bottom, places it among the most productive of the counties east of the moun- 
tains. 

The minerals consist of several varieties of iron ore, manganese and steatite. 
Some valuable mines have been worked for a good many years — those lying on 
Stonewall and Falling creeks furnishing from eighty to eighty-four per cent, of 
peroxide of iron. Ore is found almost everywhere in the county, but has been 
more particularly developed on the line of the Virginia Midland railroad, where 
large deposits of manganese have also been discovered. Some of the steatite is 
of beautiful texture, and makes handsome and durable backs and jambs for fire 
places. 

Timber is abundant and consists of hard yellow pine ; white, black, red and 
chestnut oaks ; poplar, locust, walnut, hickory, black gum, sweet gum — a magnifi- 
cent tree, growing tall and straight, furnishing a fine lumber for cabinet work 
and hubs of wheels, The sour wood grows in great quantities on the ridges, does 
not attain much size and is only used for fire-wood, but twice a year ornaments 



HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 61 

the forest with its beautiful lily-like flowers, and furnishes the bee with its purest 
honey. 
Campbell had the following 

MINKRAI^ ON EXHIBITION AT THE NEW ORLEANS EXPOSITION. 

1. Cganite, from J. J. Hardwicke, Lynch station, Virginia Midland Railroad. 

2. Iron Ore. specular and magnetic, from mine near Lynch station. 

3. Magnetic Iron Ore, from mines of E. S. Lee, Otter river station, Virginia 
Midland Railroad. 

4. Manganese, from mines of H. Oliver, near same locality as above. 

5. Barytes, from "Hewitt " mine, near above locality. 

6. Steatite, from Mrs. C. Peerman's quarry, near same locality. 

7. Marble, from J. M. Burruss, near same. 

8. Manganese, from mine of M. L. Bishop, near Lynch station. 

9. Magnetic and Specular Iron Ore, from last mentioned mine. 

The following were collected by Mr. E. D. Frazer : 

10 Iron Ore, magnetic, f rom " Rosenberger " mine. 

11. Iron Ore, specular and magnetic, B. S. Bernard's, near Lawyer's store. 

12. Iron Ore, hematite, from "Mortimer" mine. 

13. Manganese, from E. S. Moorman's, near Lawyer's. 

14. Manganese, from " Carson " mine, four miles south from Lawyer's. 

15. Quartzite Marble, from Lee mine. 

16. Quartzite Marble, a slab, from Moon's quarry on Lee mine. 

17. Barytes, ground, grade number one, from mills of Tanner, Bliss & Co., 
liynchburg. 

18. Barytes, ground, grade number two, from same firm— the mineral was 
mined in Campbell county. 

CHARLOTTE 

■was formed in 1765 from Lunenburg. This county has 302.624 acres of land, with 
an assessed value of $1,582,414. Population — white, 5,704; colored, 10,949; 
total, 16,553. The greater part of the county is watered by the Staunton and its 
tributaries, and some of the branches of the Meherrin have thtir sources in the 
eastern edge of Charlotte. There is much productive bottom land, and the soil 
is generally good, especially suited to fine tobacco as well as to cereals and grass. 
There was formerly much wealth in this county, and now its fine soil, abundant 
water-power, fine timber and healthy climate make it very desirable as a resi- 
dence. Many settlers from the North have located here and are pleased with the 
country. The market facilities are good, the Danville railroad passing through 
the county, and the Mecklenburg branch from Keysville through the eastern 
^dge ; and the Staunton river is navigable for batteaux all along the southern and 
western frontier of the county. Five thousand dollars per annum is being ex- 
pended by the general Government in extending and improving the navigatioa 
of this river, and a steamer is now running up to Cole's Ferry and as high as 
Brookneal. 
Iron ore, copper, mica and kaolin have been found in Cliarlotte. 



€2 HAND-BOOK OP VIRGINIA. 



CHESTERFIELD 

was formed from Honrico in 1748. It is 28 miles lono; and 18 milfs wide. Th*- 
surface is rolling'. The soil i? in general light and gray in color. ea.«ily improved,, 
and contains 297.710 acres, assessed at $3 077 021; value o( town lots, $50,950. 
Population— white, 13 504; colored, 11,521 ; total, 25,085. 

" Chesterfield county lies between James river on the north and the Appomattox 
on the south. It is intersected by a number of large streams. The county is 
divided into two unequal parts by the seam of granite which marks the limit of 
tidewater in »11 of the rivers of the State. The eastern and smaller section if 
therefore in Tidewater Virginia, and is adapted to all the crops of that section.. 
Tlie southern section, in addition to the cereals, vegetables, peanuts, &c., of th© 
tidewater section, produces a good quality of tobacco, 

"The lands along the James and Appomattox rivers, both above and below tide- 
water, are good, some of it; being unsurpassed by any in the State. The histori* 
farms of Drewry's BluiT, Presque Isle, and Bermuda Hundred, with many othert 
just as productive, are on the James river below Richmond, and are certainly 
equal to any lands in Eastern Virginia. There are some fine farming lands 
on the large creel\P. The high lands in many cases, though naturally good, hav« 
been worn down, and need improvement. As to game, we have all common to 
this section— deer, fox, rabbk;, squirrel, raccoon, opo.asum, &c , with wild turkeys, 
partridges, and along the rivers ducks, geese, sora, <fec. Our streams are well sup- 
plied with fifih — all riative to this section abound, and in tidewater streams stur- 
geon, shad, herring and terrapin in great abundance. 

"The county lying as it does between Richmond and Petersburg, offers extraor- 
dinary inducements to tlie market gardener, to say nothing of the advantages of 
being in easy re«ch of the Northern markets by steamers on James river — at 
many of the wharves of which vessels can be freighted for foreign port*. 

"Dairying is now in its infancy, but the ease with which grass can be grown on 
much of our river land and the proximity of two large cities will at no distant 
day make it an important industry. 

''On the seam of granite above mentioned there are two large and one small 
quarries, the output of which is said to be « qual to anj-- in tlie country. There is 
room and facilities for unlimited enterprise in this direction. 

"Ochre is being successfully worked on the Lower Appomattox, and gives em- 
ployment to about one hundred hands. There are three cotton mills, giving em- 
ployment to over six hundred hands ; two large flour mills, and a large ehtablish- 
ment for making doors, sash, blinds. &c., mar Pcterfburg. employing a larg© 
number of hands; one steam tannery and one sumac mill employ a large force. 
The making of brick, tile, &c., is an important industry around Manchester and 
Petersburg. 

"The Richmond coal-field, sometimes called the Chesterfield coal-field, runt 
across the county from north to south. Only the eastern crop h is been worked 
within the limit of tlii-* county. At Midlothian the wo'king> are in the hands of 
companies, independent of the railroad. At Clover Hill tiie Brighthope Railway 
company are working two large pits. 

" In addition to the means of transportation furnished by the rivers, we have the 
Richmond and Danville railroad through the western part of th" county, th» 
Richmond and Petersburg railroad connecting those citie> ; the Brighthope Rail- 
way, running across the entire county, terminating at Bermuda Hundred, wher» 



HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 63 

they have expensive coajl yards, wharves, <fce. There is also another road projected 
from F*etersburg up the Appomattox. The Upper Appomattox is controlled by a 
navigation company, ^jvho are now rebuilding the d^ms and locks, which when 
done will afford the ?,outh side of the county ample means of transportation. 

"The facilities aflibrded by the railroads, navigable rivers, &c., for shipping, hai 
built up a very larore industry in the cutting of wood and lumber for the Northern 
market. All kindr* of timber can be uiilized — gum, oak, pine, cedar, dogwood, 
and poplar. Even the cutting of hoop-poles, tobacco-box linings, &c , gives em- 
ployment to many, 

*'A11 of the liiUe indtutries fostered by the proximity of large cities have a place 
among our industries. 

"As to wages, it goes without saying that they are about as high as the several 
Industries can Ptand, for so many works of a public kind — as mines, factories, 
mills, railroads, &c. — compel the farmer to pay good wages or go without labor. 
The cotton mills not long ago adopted the ten-hour system, which is a new feature 
in this State at least, 

"We have sixty-five public schools in tlie county, and are In easy reach of the 
besi schools, both public and private, in the State, in the cities of liichmond and 
Petersburg. There i^ a large female school of liigh grade at Chester, on the 
Richmond and Petersburg railroad. 

" Our county roads are fairly good, and are being rapidly improved. The Buck- 
ingham turnpike in the western part of the county, and the Richmond and Pe- 
tersburg turnpike, running across the county, no longer charge toll?*, but are still 
good roads. 

"Chester, on the Richmond and Petersburg railroad, and Bon Air on the Rich- 
mond and Danville, are summer resorts for a class of people in the cities who 
wish to get their families to the country but cannot leave their business." 

Another C(trrespotident truly says of Chesterfield that " it is one of the best lo- 
eated counties in Virginia as regards markets and transportion, lying as it does 
between Richmond and Petersburg, having two large navigable rivers on its 
borders and being intersected with railroads." He goes on to say : '"For outside 
markets we are only five hours from Washington, six hours from Biltiiuor*, nine 
hours from Philadelphia and twelve hours from New York— the great markets of 
the country. For transportation, we have the James river on the north and east, 
the Appomattox river on the south and west; the Atlantic Coast Line intersect- 
ing the county north and south ; the Richmond and Danville railroad running 
througii the northern, and tlie Brighthope Railway through the central part of 
the county, making all parts easy of access and convenient to either railroad or 
water transportation. 

" The farming interest of this county is rapidly undergoing a change through the 
energy and perseverance of our Northern and Western settlers, who, fin ling that 
they could not compete with the West in the cultivation of grain crops, have been 
seeding their meadow lands to grass, raising butter and milk for the three adja- 
•ent cities— Richmond and Manchester on the north and Peteisburg on the south. 
Also, they are now planting vineyards, strawberries, and small frui's generally, 
several of our farmers realizing $125 per acre on strawberries and $150 per acre on 
grapes. It does not require very large tracts to make a family .self-supporting. 

"We have plenty of lands to the west of the Courthou.se which can be yet 
bought at prices ranging from $5 to $10 per acre ; south of the Courthouse from 
♦6 to $12 ; east of the Courthouse from $12 to $50 per acre ; on the north from $10 
to $100 per acre. The lands adjoining the city of Manchester have nearly doubled 



64 HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 

in value in the past twelve months, owing principally rto the extension of the 
street railroad out beyond the corporate limits. 

" Churches (principally of Baptist, Methodist, Presbyter! an, and a few of other 
denominations) abundant, and convenient. Rapid progresls has been made in 
developing the public school interest throughout the county. \ 

" We have the cheapest rates of taxation of any county in thte State. Lands are 
assessed below their real value, and yet taxes for all purposes only ninety cents 
on the $100 worth of property. At this time the county has $1,3,000 in bank and 
does not owe a cent. • 

"The remains of an ancient iron furnace are found in this ciounty, five or six 
miles below Richmond, described by Berkeley in his History of V^irginia as being 
worked in 1620. It was broken up by the massacre of 0pecancan6ugh in 1622." 

CHESTERFIELD MINERALS AT NEW ORLEANS EXPOSITJfON. 

1. Bituminous Coal, from Brighthope Railway Company's mines, irom beds 25 
feet thick. \ 

2. Glass Sand, from Bermuda, noar James river, very fine quality. ' 

3. Bituminous Coal, from " Etna" mine, near Coalfield station, Richmond and 
Danville railroad. 

4 Carbonite, Natural Coke, from " Eureka " coke mine, near same place. 

5. Crude Yellow Ochre, from mines of Bermuda Ochre Co. 

6. Manufactured Yellow Ochre, from above, considered by manufacturers equal 
to the best French. 

7. Iron Ore, hematite, from 3 to 4 inches thick above the beds from which the 
ochre is obtained ; makes good metalic paint ; probably the ore used in the first 
iron works built in America. 

8. Oranite, from Old Dominion Granite Company's quarries on James river. 

CUMBERLAND 

was formed in 1748 from Qoochland. It is thirty-two miles long and about ten 
miles broad, with the Appomattox river running on its south, the James on its 
north boundary, and Willis' river through its western part. The Norfolk and 
Western railroad runs through a portion of its southern border. The surface is 
undulating and the soil productive. Number of acres of land, 191,049, assessed 
at $1011,570; value of town lots, $10,201. Population — white, 3,123; colored, 
7,414 ; total, 10,537. 

The products are tobacco, wheat, corn and oats. The cultivated grasses, par- 
ticularly clover, succeed admirably on improved lands. 

The soil is very good, with generally a red clay sub-soil, and is capable of being 
made very productive. The lands on the rivers are very fertile. No county in 
the State probably is more healthy than this, and the inhabitants have every 
reason to be satisfied with their homes, and persons seeking new homes will find 
many inducements here. 

Cartersville, on the James river, is the principal village, and much of the pro- 
duce of the county is shipped from this point by the Richmond and Alleghany 
railroad, which runs near the north border of this county on the opposite side of 
the river. A substantial bridge across the river at Cartersville places the farmers 
of the northern end of the county in easy reach of the railroad. 

Coal is found in the county, but it is only used for furnaces and blacksmith's use. 

A most remarkable cluster of mineral springs has been discovered in this county 



HAND-BOOK OF VIEGINIA. 65 

within a third of a mile from the town of Farmville. Tiiere are lithia, sulphur, 
chalybeate and magnesftan waters flowing: from the earth within a few yards of 
each other— a wonderfiij and beneficent freak of nature. 

Our correspondent giAres the following sketch : 

" Cumberland offers piany natural and social advantages to those seeking homes 
In Midland Virginia. Whilst our lands are not all as fertile as the " delta of the 
Nile," and no " fountajin of youth " flows within our borders, we are blessed with 
a mild and healthful c'j/mate and a soil kind and productive, always responding 
promptly to diligent tilling and liberal fertilizing. The soil of this county isi as 
varied as its products. Tenacious red clay abounds in almost every part of the 
county, peculiarly adapted to wheat and red clover, and yielding not unfrequently 
thirty bushels per acre of the former crop. Much of our land is of the light gray 
type, where the tobacco plant delights to thrive, producing often from 1,000 to 
1,500 pounds per acre. Here is grown in highest perfection the far-famed ship- 
ping tobacco of Virginia. Along our rivers and creeks the rich alluvial bottom 
lands produce large crops of corn and oats. All of the cereals, garden vegetables 
and orchard fruits adapted to this latitude can be successfully and profitably 
grown here. Tobacco and wheat are the principal crops grown for market in the 
interior of the county, but when the Brighthope Railway is extended through 
Cumberland, connecting with the Richmond and Danville railroad on the east 
and the Norfolk and Western on the southwest, we will be in easy reach of the 
large markets of the State, when fruit culture, trucking and dairy farming will 
<Joubtless largely engage the attention of our people. 

''Our county has voted a liberal subscription to the stock of the Brighthope Rail- 
way, which if built will traverse the county for a distance of twenty-five or thirty 
miles, affording such facilities for travel and transportation as will greatly 
enhance the value of our lands, and contribute largely to the material prosperity 
of our people. 

" Our lands lie well for ci iltivation, are easily drained, and rarelj"^ so broken as 
not to be secured against washing, if hillside ditches are properly run. We have 
still much original growth in our forests, with an abundance of excellent building 
material. Saw and grist mills in every neighborliood, with church and school 
privileges as good as are to be found in most counties of the State. We have no 
improved highways ; our dirt roads are very good in summer. 

" There have been no mineral discoveries in this county to excite attention. Some 
surface specimens of magnetic iron ore have been found, but no explorations 
made of any magnitude. Near the village of Ca Ira on Willis river a paint mine 
was discovered years ago, which could no doubt be worked profitably if cheap 
transportatiou were at hand. 

"The mineral springs known as the Farmville Lithia Springs are located in this 
county. The waters are highly prized for their medicinal virtues, and large ship- 
ments are dally made to distant States. This property is now under lease to a 
company of northern capitalists, who contemplate erecting a large hotel near the 
Springs and making it an attractive resort to invalids and pleasure-seekers. 

"Our lands are worth all the way from $3 to $30 per acre, depending on quality, 
location, «fec. Many farms are in a high state of cultivation, with good fences, 
l)uildings, &c. ; others are run down and "out at the heels," for want of means 
to repair and improve, or lack of energy and industry on the part of the owners. 

" New industries have sprung up here since the war, such as the manufacture of 
sassafras oil and the gathering and curing for market the sumac leaves. These 
spontaneous products, that were formerly regarded as nuisances, are now con- 



06 HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 

Terted rearlily into money. Our vast pine forests that everywhere meet the ey» 
will, I believe, be a source of profit at no very distant day. Minv of our farmers 
are turning tlieir attention to slieep husbandry, and find it liijirlily remnnpn.tive» 
■beep thrive here on the great variety of herbage, and sire free from many dis- 
eases that prevail in some other States. They require but little fi-eding during 
our usually mild winters, and the mutton fattened on our native broomsedge is of 
•xcellent qualit}'. 

"As to the average yield of difFi^rent grain crops I would^ay — of corn, 5 barrels 
per acre ; wheat, 10 bushels ; oats, 15 bushels ; rye, 10 bushels. The average yield 
of tobacco I would put at 1,000 pounds per acre among the good planters ; but so 
much is grown of late years on poor wornout lauds, without proper feitilizing 
and judicious culture and attention, that the general average would liave to b« 
considerably reduced if we take into the count this class ol tobacco-growers." 

CUMBERLAND MINERALS AT THE NEW ORLEANS EXPOSITION. 

1. Iron Ore, lean, from Lyon A. Agee. 

2. Iron Ore, from Dr. J, M. Blanton, Farmville. 

3. Magnetite^ from Col. J. C. Wood, near Ca Ira. 

4. Lignite, from Dr. J. M. Blanton, Farmville. 

DINWIDDIE 

was formed in 1752 from Prince George. The surface is in some parts undulating, 
but mostly level. The soil of the undulating portion h light clay loam, suscepti- 
ble of the highest state of improvement. The Appomattox on the north bound- 
ary, and the Nottoway on the south, with their tributaries, give ample drainag* 
to the county, with fertile bottom lands. 

"The population, census of 1880, was, including the city of Petersburg, 32.870 — 
white, 14 -137 ; colored, 18,4-28. Tlie area of the county is 295.046 acres— 102,517 
acres arable land and 192,029 acres in original and second giowth forest, assessed 
at $1,]23.79J. 

" The staple productions are tobacco, corn, wheat und oats, while cotton, peanuts, 
potatoes, sweet and Irish, melons, and vegetables ^f every description grow well 
in this county. In the eastern portion of the county, and in the section near 
Petersburg, the farmers are engaged in trucking, and having e&»y shipping facili- 
ties large quantities of trucks and t)erries are shipped annually from ihe county. 
There is an abundance of marl in the ea!*tern portion of the county, and has been 
used with very satisfactory results by the farmers who have tried it. 

"All the clovers and grasses flouristi well, and give fine crops of hay, when seeded 
on the improved linds on the creek and river bottoms and on newly cleared land. 
The large area of forestry consists of all the oaks, the hi^ kory, ash, dogwood, 
walnut, elm, persimmon, poplar and pine, original and second growth. 

" There is an almost inexhaustible supply of granite, of Hie finest qimlity, in th« 
northeastern portion of the county. The quarries at Mayfield and Bortih's have 
been worked a number of years, and experts declare that the stone taken, from 
them is suse« prible of the finest polish, and noted for its durable qualities. These 
quarries are close to the lines of transportation, and very accessible. 

"Several veins of hematite, some of them of rich ore, and of m ignetic iron on 
crop out in different portions of the county. Coal is also found, but has not yet 
been explored. 

" The city of Petersburg, in this county, Js an important railroad centre, and a. 



HAND-BOOK OP VIRGINIA. 67 

/' 

large tobacco and cotton f^nd wheat market. It has eight large tobacco factories, 
four cotton factori*^8, five^ large flouring mills, a large trnnk factory, and thre« 
factories for the manufncijure of butter dishes, boxes, baskets and crate's for fruit 
and berries. The miiti'iiial for all these manufactures exist already, or can b« 
raised in Dinwiddie county. The population of Petersburg at thi-* time i^ about 
85,000. The Norfolk arid Western railroad, from Norfolk to Bristol-Goodson, 
passes through the city/and through the northern portion of tliis county for a 
distance of nearly thirty miles. They have haiidsome depot buildings and larg© 
machine shops in the cj\ty, and a branch road to City Point on tlie James. The 
Atlantic Coast Line passe^j through the city and along tho ea-tern border of the 
county for tea miles, it has large depot buildings and machine shops in Peters- 
burg. 

*'The Appomattox ri"er has been dredged, and is navigable for small steamers 
and sailing vessels to Pi>tersburg. The Upper Appomattox Canal Company have 
put their canal in good condition and have a full line of boats. Ttii-i canal passes 
along the northern boiuidai y of the county, and is a great convenience to the 
farmers and land owners of tiiat section. 

"Labor is abundtnt and comparatively cheap. 

"The public school system is thoroughly well established in tins county, with 
good, conifortable school buildings and a full and competent corps of teachers^ 
The churches in the county are sixteen Methodist, two Episcopj.1, two Baptist, 
one Prefibyterlan, one Disciple and twelve colored Bnptist. 

"The Central Lunatic Asylum, one of the largest asylums in the United 
f tates for colored lunatics, is located at Mayfield in this county." 

# 

FAIRFAX ^ 

was formed in 1742 from Prince William. It lies on the Potomac river, and ad- 
Joins Alexandria county. Tlie county is watered by the Potouiac and the Oceo- 
quan, and their tributaries. 

The surface is generally rolling and the soil is a sandy and clay loam, and m 
some parts very fertile. 

The population is 16,037— white, 10,773 ; colored, 5.264. 

Number of acres of land, 264,035, assessed at $2,075,003; value of town lots, 

■ ulff.ior ^ ' 

The produciions, already very large, are rapidly increasing, and consist princi- 
pally of corn, wheat, oats, rye, hay, fruits, dai-^y products and vegetables. Its 
proximity to Wasliington city, Georgetown and Alexandria, eutures a ready de- 
mand for all the productions of the farm, dairy and garden. 

The land is mostly owned in small farms and is in a high state of culuvation. 

Many families from the northern and western States have settled in this county 
since the war. 

Artificial manure?, lime and gypsum are in general use. Much of the soil is^ 
well adapted to grass. 

Bees, sheep and poultry are reported to be profitable. 

There are thirty vineyards, embracing one lumdred acres. This interest and 
general fruit culture are rapidly being developed. 

The courthouse is situated near the centre of the county, and is a thriving vil- 
lage. It was nearly destroyed by the ravages of the late war, but has long since 
recovered from that disaster. 

Mt. Vernon, the home of Washington, is situated in this county, on the banks 



68 HAND-BOOK OF VIEQINi^'^"^' 

of the Potomac river, eight miles below Alexandria. »j.v^^® grounds are in charge 
of the Mount Vernon Association, and are visited every .-Y^^^ by thousands of per- 
sons from all parts of the world. 

Soapstone, asbestos, copper and iron are found in ^^ Fairfax. The Theodora 
Copper Mine is in this county. ^j 

The transportation facilities of this county are unsurp',^ssed. It is traversed by 
three railways, the "Alexandria and Fredericksburg," ' the "Virginia Midland," 
and the " Washington, Ohio and Western " ; and the FoU] ^"lac river, which bounds 
two of its sides, is navigable for large vessels as far as VVj,^slungton. 

On the Potomac are many valuable fisheries, from ^. *^'ch shad, herring and 
other fish are caught in great numbers. h, 

The diary business is conducted on an extensive scale. , The production of milk 
for the supply of the cities of Washington and Georgeto\^;'^i amounts to over 2,000 
gallons daily. There are several butter and cheese facto '"^'^8. 

The wheat crop of tliis county has also increased imj-'^eosely. Where, a few 
years since, two tlireshers with horse power did all the •; ♦vork, from farm to farm, 
there are now six steam-power threshers employed. / Jnoproved self-binder har- 
vesters are in use. 

Great quantities of ship-timber, and poplar for pap, '^^ polp? have been shipped 
from this county. i 

Farmers are prosperous, and settlers are adding stet'^^i^y to the population. 

FAIRFAX COUNTY MINERALS AT THE NEW Q'SIjEANS EXPOSITION. 

C 

1. Soapstone, from Edward Fitzhugh. ^ 

2. Iron ore, from J. J. Ratchford, Vienna. ^ • 

3. Potter's clay, from Edward Fitzhugh. 

4. &oal, Jura-Trias. 

5. Lignite Jura-Trias ; Vienna. 

6. Mica-schist. 

7. Kaolin, Edward Fitzhugh. 

8. Steatite, cut into form of Bible, from Syke's property, near great falls of Po- 
tomac. 

FLUVANNA 

lies on the north bank of James river, and on the >vestern edge of the Middle Di- 
vision. Albemarle bounds it on the west, Louisa on i^ie hortll *P.d .Goochland on 
the east. The Rivanna river, flowing from Albemarle and Greene counties, enters 
Fluvanna near the northwest corner and falls into tiie James at the southeastern 
angle of the county, where the thriving town of Columbia is situated. Hardware 
river flows through the southwestern limitsof the county, and Byrd creek through 
the eastern. These large tributaries of the James, and many smaller streams, 
abundantly water the county, and greatly enhance its agricultural advantages. 

Fluvanna contains 180,690 acres of land, assessed at $845,878.* Population, 
10,802 -white, 5,512; colored, 5,290. 

The productions of this county are those common to tliis part of the Middle 
Division — wheat, corn, oats, rye, grass and tobacco. For the last-named crop, it 
has a special reputation, the " sun-cured " of Fluvanna having been renowned 

•The assessed value of the 180,690 acres of land was in 1880, $I,28T,930. The figures giyen above 
(846,878) Bhow a reduction so great aud valuation so far below that of the lands of an adjoining 
county which la apparently no better and which is no more prosperous— i. «., (Joochland— that I cau 
Iiardly refrain from suspecting that a clerical error has crept In.— CommUsioner of Agriculture. 



,1 
HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. Qd^ 

for several generations. The system of flue-curing has recently been introduced 
Tcry successfully. 

This was formerly one of the^'best timbered counties in Virginia, and much good 
timber yet remains in some sections — pine, oak, poplar, ash, walnut and hickory» 

The mineral wealth of this County is very considerable. The great gold belt 
passes through, and much goldhas been taken from different mines. The "Tel- 
lurium " is the oldest gold mini? in Virginia, and the ore of this and other mines 
is, in places, very rich. \ 

Iron ore, magnetic and browri hematite, has been found, and good specimens 
of copper ore, in the neighborhood of Palmyra, the county seat. 

The Richmond and Alleghany railroad, passing through the southern border of 
Fluvanna, gives easy and quick communication with Richmond. To the central 
parts of the county the Rivanna eanal and slackwater navigation in the Rivanna 
river afford facilities for shippinj/ produce to Columbia, where it is taken by the 
railroad. Altogether, this region offers many attractions to settlers— cheap and 
productive lands, pleasant and salubrious climate, accessibility to market, and a 
moral, law abiding population. ' 

FLUVANNA COUNTY MINERALS AT THE NEW ORLEANS EXPOSITION. 

1. Gold, in sulphurets of Iron and coppei:, from Wra. F. Kirlley, Belzora mine, 

2. Magnetic Iron Ore, from L. R. Payne of Palmyra. 

3. Gold-bearing Quartz, from lands of Eugene Payne, thirteen miles north from 
Columbia. 

GOOCHLAND 

was formed in 1727 from Henrico. It is thirty miles long and about ten miles 
wide. It lies on the north bank of the James river, in its entire length. The 
surface is undulating. The soil on the rivers and creeks is very rich ; on the 
ridges not so good, but is easily improved and then very productive. It produces 
large crops of tobacco, corn, wheat, oats and hay. As fine timothy meadows can 
be shown as are in the United States. And now that this is a well established fact 
the area seeded in grass is fast increasing, and improved stock being introduced. 
Attention is being paid to the culture of the vine, to which much of the laud is 
admirably adapted. 

The population is 10,292 — white, 4,058 ; colored, 6,234. Number of acres of 
land, 178,680, assessed at $1,363,049. 

Good land can be bought for $12 ; on the ridges, from $2 to $5. The Richmond 
and Alleghany railroad, running through its length, forty- two miles by the wind- 
ings of James river, furnishes transportation for the farm products. The health 
of the county is excellent. It is drained by several large and many small creeks, 
which empty into the James. 

In this county are found gold, iron ore, copper and coal. There are seven gold 
mines and two coal mines in the county. The soil is a gray or chocolate loam, 
resting on a tenacious red clay subsoil, and is noted for its large and excellent 
crops of wheat. Many northern men have purchased lands and settled in this 
county, and are well pleased with it. Besides gold, iron and coal, several other 
minerals are found here, as granite, plumbago and asbestos. The county seat, 
near the centre of the county, is thirty miles from Richmond, and is a thriving 
village. 



70 HAND-BOOK OF VIRGiH.T^I'*^' 

GOOCHLAND COUNTY MINERALS AT THE N^ ^^ ORLEANS EXPOSITION. 

Famished by Charles Willard, Superintendent, ir^^vP"" eight veins on land of Ta|;u» 

Mill and Mining Cc *• 

Gold ores from " Hurse Vein," 16 inch thick, and^l assays from $28 to $40 per torn. 

/t 

1. Specimen of outcrop. jl 

2. Specimen from water level, fourteen feet 4 eep. 

From Mary Veiri. '• 

8. Specimen of outcrop. ^ 

4. Specimen of open cut near surface— assav*^"' *^*- 
6. Specimen from open cut 8^ deep-assays, W ; vein 12vv thick. 

r . 
From Oak Hill w em. 

f 

6. Specimen from 4'' vein above water leve>a'* 

7. Specimen from water level. 

8. Specimen from below water-level— yieLc^ »10 ; 6^ to 12v thick. 

From Oak Hill* Tunnel. 

9. Sample of hanging^ wall 18^^ thick. . 

10. Section of vein next below 9. / 

11. Section of vein next below 10. / 

12. Section of vt-in next below 11. 

13. Bottom of vein below 12. 

14. Piece of boulder weighing forty pc/'^i^ds in a brown gravel vein under IS. 

The Yoi'^^S: Shaft. 

15. Laminated rock, from 70n below .surface, from hanging wall of ledge 1,800 

wide. 

16. Layer of slate 6^^ between 15. , ^ ^ , 

17. From lO^'' quartz vein in 16. '" " '^ 

The Fisher Vein. 

18. Surface croppings. 

19. From water level 14^ down. 

20. Fiom bottom of vein, vein 20^^ thick, close to above foot wall— assays $14 

to $20. 

West Vein in Gilmore Mine. 

21. From 10^ cut. 

22. From lO'- cut. 

The Main Vein. 

23. From croppings on top of hill. 

24. From 20^ deep — assays from $24 to $42. 



HAN5>-B00K of VIRGINIA. 71 

15. From 30^ deep— assays flPm $24 to $42. 

86. From 40^ deep. ' 

S7. From 50^ deep— assays frfin $10 to $75. 

28. 1 From 60^ deep. If coijcentrated and roasted will assay $150 to $200 gold, 

29. / and about $9 silver. | 

80. Sample of choice croppii^s, found everywhere alonp the course of veins. 

81. Gold in eulphurets of iro^ and copper, from Wm. F. Kirtley, " Belzom " 
mine. \ 

32. Gold-bearing: quartz, '* Filler " mine. 

83. Talc, mica amd plumbago^irom line of R. & A. R. R. 

GREENSVILLE 

was formed in 1780 from Brunswick. It lies on the North Carolina line, and it 
one of the cotroii and peanut producing counties. 

The surface is level or gently rdling ; the soil mostly a sandy loam, easily tilled 
and freely n-spoiuliiig to ameliorating culture. Tiie Nottoway river, on its north 
line, and Meh.-rrin, which flows ihrough its central parts, with their numeroui 
affluents, drain its surface and furnish ample water-power and abundant supplies 
of fish. \ 

The productions are varied and valuable, and include tobacco, corn, wheat, oats, 
cotton and peanuts. Tln're are som# stiflf clay soils well-suited to wheat. Lands 
are cheap, and the people kind an^ hospitable. The climate and healih aie all 
that could b«' de-ired. 

The transportation facilities are very good, and are furnished by the Petersburg 
and Weklon railroad, wiiich traverses its greatest length near the middle, and by 
the Seaboard and Koanoke railroad, ^hich is near its southeast corner. Two 
other railroads have been projected, wliigh will greatly add to the commercial ad- 
vantages of tliis and the adjoining counties. The Atlantic, Danville and Western 
road is already completed from Claremont, the deep-water terminus on the James 
river in Surry county, to Hicksford, the couuty-seat of Greensville. 

Population 8,407 ; white, 2,767 ; colored, 5,650. Area, 186,676, assessed at 
$684,939. 

Many immigrants have settled here sinJe the war, mostly from the Northern 
States and from Great Britain. The timbf^r of this county is abundant and very 
valuable, and consists mainly of white oal», ash and pine. There is a tram road, 
nine miles long, on which st^am car? are run, leading from the Petersburg rail- 
road to a very tine body of white oak timber. 

Marl is found in tliis county. 

Our correspondent writes: "Poplar Mt., Greensville county, Va., September 
8, 1886. In response to your ciicular of August 10th, let me say: I live in the 
northern part of tiie county and own a clay farm on the banks of Nottoway river. 
When I purcha-ed here I was repeatedly told that I had settled on the poorest 
farm in the county. Now the luxuriant growth of all my crops will prove the 
contrary to any one who will take the trouble to see them. I k"ep about one 
huudred sheep, i welve cows, three horses and some ten head of young cattle. I 
harvested fift.v -eight busliels of fall wheat from 2 J acres of land, and am now 
putting into a silo from this same land at the rate of at least 7 tons of green corn 
fodder per acre. By the way, let me say I think this ensilage business is a great 
Godsend to southhide Virginia. English grasses do not take well to our uplaxids, 
but we certainly can grow rye and corn fodder and millet in enormous quantities, 
and the expense to us poor farmers need not be very great. My silo is a twenty 



\ 

72 HAND-BOOK OF VIRoillNIA. 

feet square barn, drawn up to the end of the cow Jt-^arn and boarded up and down 
inside wilh 12 feet boards. This is the third year jethat I am filling it. From 1 J to 
2 inches of tlie outside is injured by the air comin/ ? through, but all within is sweet 
and good. I put some 10 cords of green wooh d on top for pressure, cut 4 feet 

long. 

" I am more and more convinced that it does notlj pay our farmers to raise cotton. 
The uncultivated fields grow up in briars and sassU'ras for the want of sheep and 
other stock to browse them down. I thinlc if theyf farmers, generally, would keep 
gtock, cattle buyers from the big markets would icome here. A few years since I 
was in Washington and happened to room with [ a cattle buyer ; he said to me, ' I 
go beyond you into the valleys of Virginia, into "/Vennessee and Kentucky ; I would 
much rather come to you, but I could not fillf. » car in a whole week ; I must go 
where I can fill a car in twenty-four hours.' r, 

" Such a land for grapes and all small fruits, sif ^ch pure water and pure air, is not 
often found beneath the sun." |^* 

HALIFAX/ 

was formed in 1752 from Lunenburg. It is or le of the largest and wealthiest coun- 
ties in the State. It borders on the North Ca/rolina line, with Pittsylvania on the 
west and Mecklenburg on the east. It lies in V^^ heart of the finest tobacco growing 
section of the State, and its production of , tobacco, wheat, corn and oats aggre- 
gates a very large amount. This county is r amarkably well watered, the Staunton 
river skirting its entire northern and nort ^hwestern boundaries, with numerous 
tributaries penetrating the county, while th e Dan, Hyco and Banister rivers pene- 
trate the interior. The soil on these strea Jis is of great fertility, producing large 
crops of grain year after year without res< ^ or fertilizer. Much wealth and refine- 
ment exist here, though the wealthiest families lost heavily by the late war, as 
they did in all parts of the State ; but t''»s county was very largely slave-holding. 
The population is 33,588 ; white, 13,293 ,5 colored, 20,295. Acres of land, 518,527, 
assessed at $3,517,652. 

While not generally regarded as stric^tly a grass country, all the grasses do well 
on good land. Sht^ep raising is largf-lj carried on with very handsome profit. 
The Richmond and Danville railroad? traverses this county from northeast to 
sowthwest, by which route the count V^ seat is 115 miles distant from Eichmond. 
The town of South Boston, on the Richmond and Danville road, at one of the 
points where this road touches the Dan r'ver, is rapidly growing in importance as 
a tobacco centre-building up a flourishing tr.^de. The Lynchburg and Durham 
railroad, recently chartered, will traverse the county from north to south, and 
the Atlantic and Danville railroad will traverse the soiJrhern portion. Halifax has 
just voted a subscription of $150,000 to the Lynchburg and Durham railroad, and 
the same amount to the extension of the Atlantic and DanviliC road from Hlcks- 
ford to Danville. When these roads are completed the county will have ample 
faculties for market in all its parts. Iron, copper, plumbago, manganese and mica 
are found in the county ; and valuable lithia water is found at " Wolf Trap," on 
the Richmond and Danville road, and exported to all parts of the country. 

Our correspondent writes : The health of the people is as good as that of any of 
the Piedmont counties, the doctor rarely being able to acquire more than a scanty 
subsistence where he depends upon his profession alone. Tlie industry of the 
people is unsurpassed ; constant attention to their own affairs renders them but 
little disposed to gossip or meddle with the affairs of others. 

Closely confined at home during the week, they eagerly repair to the house of 



HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 73 

'God on the Sabbath, where, let us hope, they are as anxious to meet with the 
object of their worship as with their fellowmen. In truth, the people, in the main, 
are religious anfl devotional, as evinced in their marked intere-t in the Sabbath 
schools, numerous protracted meetings, and the great attention paid to the beauty 
and comfort of their cliurches. Even the colored people, imitating this praise- 
worthy example, are erecting houses of worship all over the county, which, in 
many instances, would compare favorably with those in which our fathers wor- 
shipped before the late '• unpl-asantness." Naturally this great interest in religion 
is leading our people to more than ordinary zeal in the cause of education ; the 
outlook for the schools being better to-day than at any time since the inauguration 
of the public school system in this State, as manifested in the many good schools 
now in operation, and the great call for good teachers and good schools in every 
quarter of the county. 

Planting, that is, the cultivation of tobacco, is the chief industry of the county, 
not because our lant's are not adapted to the grain crop>, but because the cultiva- 
tion of tobacco has been far more remunerative than that of other crops. The 
lands upon our principal streams, including Birch creek, Hyco and other streams, 
are as finely adapted to corn, wheat, clover and other cereals, as those of the 
valley or any other section of the State. 

A very large proportion of the ridge lands of the county is of a free, soft, gray 
sandy character, unsurpassed by any in the world for the growth of fine tobacco. 
Of such fine texture, siikiness, brightness and richness of color is the article some- 
times grown here, a> to bring upon the market more than a dollar a pound, 
and whole crop* have been sold at the barn door at an average of forty cents, and 
sometimes even more. What makes this county peculiarly attractive is the 
fact, that while its grain lands compare favorably in fertility with those of any 
other section of the State, its poorest lands, such as have just been described, 
are its most valuable, selling sometimes as high as thirty and thirty-five dollars 
per acre. In fact, until the recent universal depression in trade, there was a con- 
siderable boom in the price of lands all over the county — in some instances bring- 
ing double what they sold for six or seven years ago — while this upward tendency 
in prices has been checked, we still believe with one or two more good crops we 
will reach a degree of prosperity which has not been experienced since the war. 
A sufficiency of good desirable labor can be had at prices varying from seven to 
ten dollars per month in the difterent sections of the county. Very desirable 
land can be bought at prices varying from eight to fifteen dollars per acre. To- 
bacco ordinarily sells at an average of from ten to fifteen dollars, as shown in the 
warehouse reports, but prices during the present depression range considerably 
lower. The price of grain here is, in a great measure, controled by that of the 
"Western and Northwfstern markets. Corn, usually from 55 to 65 ; wheat, from 
75 cents to $1.23 per bushel ; oats, hay, &c., from 75 cen,ts to $1.25 per 100 weight. 
Along the line of the railroad, Sutherlin, News Ferry, South Boston, Scotts- 
burg and Clover, are enterprising business places. South Boston particularly has 
flourished beyond the expectation of its most sanguine friends. Blackwalnut, 
Brooklyn and Republican Grove, somewhat remote from the railroad, exhibit evi- 
denoes of prosperity. H.tlifax before the war was one of the largest slave-holding 
counties of the State. At the close of the war many of the citizens were so 
heavily depressed with indebtedness arising out of the system of slavery that they 
have not yet recupt^rated — but for this fact, the county would to-day exhibit 
greater evidences of thrift than at any period of its history ; for many in all parts 
of the county who were penniless, taking an even start, unhampered by debt, are 

5 



74 HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 

now possessed of good lands, comfortable houses and furniture, fine teams, and 
even pleasure horses and carriages, with money lying to their credit in the banks^ 

HALIFAX COUNTY MINERALS AT NEW OBLEANS EXPOSITION. 

1. Cinder, from ancient furnace near Scottsburg. 

2. Magnetite, from John M. Jordan. 

3. Steatite and Clay, from Wolf Trap- H. Blair. 

4. Light Sandstone, from same as above. 

5. Magnetite and Specular Iron Ore, from J. M. Jordan. 

LOUISA 

was formed from Hanover in 1742. It is thirty miles long and about eighteen 
miles wide, and contains 315,746 acres of land, valued at $1,814,998, and a popu- 
lation of 18.942; white 7,409; colored, 11,533. North Anna river forms its 
northern boundary, separating it from Spotsylvania ; the South Anna drains its- 
central parts, and these rivers with their tributaries furnish much valuable bottom 
land and numerous sites for mills with abundant water-power. 

The surface is gently undulating, and the soil in most parts of an excellent 
quality. In the western part of this county is a remarkably productive district 
of land called " Green Springs," supposed to be the bed of an ancient lake. 
The main crops of the county are corn, wheat, oats and tobacco, the last the main 
money crop, and being well handled, usually brings very good prices. Three 
hundred and seventy-five dollars per hundred weight was paid in 1885 for sun- 
cured tobacco raised in Louisa. 

Transportation to market is furnished by the Chesapeake and Ohio railroad, 
which traverses it from east to west, and a branch of the Virginia Midland rail- 
road skirting the western end. 

The county is rich in mineral=. Gold, silver, copper, iron, lead, manganese, 
kaolin and plumbago, all are found here. The inexhaustible deposits of copper 
and iron .pyrites will one day be immensely valuable. Very soon they will be 
largely^utilized in the manufacture of sulphuric acid, with the metal as a by-pro- 
duct. Tiiese rich deposits are found on the edge of the gold belt, near Tolers- 
ville, on the Chesapeake and Ohio railroad, and a branch road will soon be con- 
structed to the mines. 

Timber of the usual varieties found in Middle Virginia is abundant in Louisa. 

LOUISA COUNTY MINERALS AT THE NEW ORLEANS EXPOSITION. 

The following valuable contribution, six boxes full, are from the " Arminius " 
copper mine, east from Tolersville station, Chesapeake and Ohio railway, con- 
tributed by W. H. Adams, engineer and mine manager : 

1. Granular Pyrites, from surface of vein ; contains about fifty per cent, of 
sulphur. 

2. Granular Pyrites, from principal vein ; sulphur, 49.57 ; iron, 43.62 ; copper, 
1.50. 

3. Iron Pyrites, containing gold, silver, &c. 

4. Iron Py-ites, containing copper, gold and silver. 

5. Iro7t Pyrites, containing copper. Analysis gives copper 3. to 12.; iron, 38. 
to 43.; f^ulpluir, 34. to 42. 

6. Massive Iron Pyrites, containing zin . 



HAND-BOOK OP VIRGINIA. 75 

7. Black Oxides of Copper, "lines " ; copper, 4. to 20.; sulphur, 2Q. to 32.; iron, 
20. to 28. 

8. Massive Hard White Iron Pyrites ; sulphur, 51.649 ; iron, 46.870. 

9. Granular W hite Iron Pyrites ; sulphur, 51.30; iron, 47.60. 

10. Pyrrhotite and Chalcopyrite ; copper, 4.207; iron, 45.; sulphur, 39. 

11. White Iron Pyrites ; millions of tons of ore carrying above 30 per cent, of 
sulphur and rich in copper and iron are here exposed on line of pits for nearly a 
mile in a northeast and southwest direction — much of it contains from 50 to 52 
per cent, of sulphur. 

12. Garnet Slate and Garnets in place, from main Pyrites vein in No. 3 ehaft. 

13. Garnets and Magnetite, crystals in place, from No. 1 shaft, 125' from 
surface. 

14. Manganiferous Iron Ore, from a prospecting hole. 

15. Iron Ore, Hematite, from surface of pyrites veins of "Arminius" and 
" Sulphur Mines" companies' properties. These ores have been largely used in 
Victoria furnace. 

16. Gold, in sulphurets of iron and copper, from Wm. F. Kirtly, Esq. 

The following from Professor Fontaine : 

17. Gneiss, in large quantities, at Holliday's mill on North Anna river. 

18. Itacolumite, from the "gold belt" near Tolersville, a little east from the 
pyrites. 

19. Specular Iron Ore, from "Green Springs" neighborhood; not seen in 
place. 

From the Virginia Department of Agriculture : 

20. Bed Hematite Iron Ore, from J. F. Jordan, from Old Victoria furnace. 

21. Micaceous Iron Ore, from "Davis" mine, near Tolersville. 

22. Iron Ore, from R. M. Kent, Louisa Courthouse. 

23. Gold-bearing Quartz, from " Walton " mine. 

24. Manganese, from J. B. Jenkins, Victoria furnace. 

25. Black-jack Iron Ore, from J. F. Jordan, Victoria furnace. 

26. GraphHe, from Mr. Powell. 

27. Gold-hearing Quartz, said to contain $2,000 to the ton, from J. B. Jenkins; 

28. Magnetic Iron Ore. 

Our correspondent writes cheeringly concerning this prosperous county. He 
says, after speaking of the fine oxen and sheep raised in Louisa and the tobacco 
of unsurpassed quality, and the excellent church and school privileges : 

" Our people are public-spirited. The county roads are receiving extra atten- 
tion. At this time twenty-five convicts are at work upoa them, and making 
marked improvements. These things are showing themselves in the advancing 
price of farming lands, ranging from $5 to $35 per acre. Recently several farms 
have been purchased by gentlemen of wealth and culture. Stock raising and 
grazing are specialties with some of the farmers ; and our farmers raise their own 
meat and bread." 

LUNENBURG 

was formed in 1746 from Brunswick. It is thirty miles long in its greatest length, 
and has an average width of about fifteen miles. It contains 269,287 acres land, 



76 HAND-BOOK OP VIRGINIA. 

valued at $682.409 ; value of town lots, $4,445. Population — white, 4,611 ; col- 
ored, 6,924; total, 11,535. The surface is level, or gently undulating; the soil a 
grayish s-late, or of sandy texture, easily tilled, and producing good crops. It lies 
between Nottoway and Meherrin rivers, the first forming most of the northern 
border, and the latter separating it from Mecklenburg on the south. The numer- 
ous tributaries of these rivers permeate the county in all parts and aflford many 
eligible locations for mill sites. 

The productions are tobacco, wheat, corn, oats, cotton and grass. 

This county abounds in good timber of white and other oaks, pine, hickory, 
walnut and maple. No valuable minerals have been developed, but there were 
on exhibition at the New Orleans Exposition samples of glass sand, quartz and 
pyrite. 

The transportation facilities of this county are not very good. The Richmond 
and Danville railroad passes along the northwest border, and the Richmond and 
Mecklenburg railroad on the west line. 

This Is a healthy region, and well adapted to fruits and the vine. The society 
is excellent, and the lands can be bought very low. 

MECKLENBURG 

was formed in 1764 from Lunenburg. It is thirty-six miles long and has an average 
width of about eighteen miles. It contains 417,394 acres, valued at $1,365,364; 
value of town lots, $184,887. Population — white, 8,222 ; colored, 16,388 ; total, 
24,610. It is watered by Meherrin river, which separates it on the north from 
Lunenburg, by the Roanoke, which runs from west to east through the southern 
portions, and by numerous tributaries of these rivers. The Dan and Staunton 
unite in this county and form the Roanoke. Upon these fine rivers there is a very 
large extent of rich bottom land — few counties in the State have more. 

The productions are tobacco, corn, wheat, oats, and some cotton. About one 
half of the county is in timber, consisting of various kinds of oak, poplar, ash, 
hickory, beech, birch, pine, gum, dogwood, &c. Fruits succeed well, there being 
eight to ten thousand acres in apples, peaches, pears, cherries, quinces, plums and 
apricots, and a considerable amount in grapes. 

The health of this county is excellent and the society good. Many immigrants 
have adopted this as their home, and there is room and inducements for many 
more. "Chase City," founded by English immigrants, is a flourishing colony, 
and the people are anxious to secure more of such a desirable class of settlers. 
The Buffalo Lithia Springs in this county has a world wide reputation as furnish- 
iog a mineral water of value in the treatment of dyspepsia, rheumatism and dis- 
eases of the urinary organs ; and at Chase City a mineral water has been discov- 
ered which may prove very valuable. 

This county has been greatly benefitted by the completion of the Richmond 
and Mecklenburg railroad from Keysville, a point on the Richmond and Dan- 
ville railroad, to Clarksville, nearly across the western end of the county, 
and a movement is being made to extend this road to Durham, in North 
Carolina. 

The Atlantic, Danville and Western narrow gauge road, which has already 
reached Hicksford, in Greensville, will pass through Mecklenburg, from east to 
west. 

Gold has been mined in this county, and there are good indications of copper 
and iron. Slate and porhyry also are found here. 



HAND-BOOK OF VIEGINIA. 77 



NOTTOWAY 

was formed in 1788 from Amelia. It is twenty miles long by about twelve miles 
in width, and contains 196,557 acres of lands, valued at $726,331; value of town 
lots, $92,781. 

Population, 11, 156— white, 3,012; colored, 8,144. 

This was formerly a very wealthy county, and contained a larger proportion of 
blacks than any other in the State — about five-sevenths of the whole, or two and 
a half blacks to one white. Consequently there has been a great shrinkage of 
value in real estate, and there is an excellent chance to buy fine lands in this and 
other counties of the "black belt" at a low price. It is watered by Nottoway 
and Little Nottoway rivers and by some of the tributaries of the Appomattox. 

The principal crops are tobacco, wheat, corn and oats. The tobacco of this 
county is noted for its excellent quality. The timber consists mostly of oak, pine, 
hickory, maple, walnut, beech, poplar, ash, gum, cedar, dogwood. Mica, steatite, 
kaolin, and granite are found in this county, but have not as yet been developed. 

Blackstone is tiie largest village in the county. Beginning at the close of the 
war with one shanty for a storehouse, it now has over twenty stores and shops, 
one bank, one fertilizer factory, one bark, sumac and grist mill, one tobacco fac- 
tory, two tobacco warehouses, three churches, public school building, etc. It 
ships more produce on the Norfolk and Western railroad than any station between 
Petersburg and Lynchburg. 

Burkeville is a thriving village, located in the western part at the intersection 
of the Norfolk and Western, and the Richmond and Danville railroads. These 
two railways, entering the county one on the western and the other on the northern 
border, aflFord convenient transportation to most of its territory. This, with 
other counties of Middle Virginia, constitute probably the healthiest region of the 
State, and the people are hospitable and ready to welcome new settlers among 
them. 

NOTTOWAY COUNTY MINERALS AT THE NEW ORIjEANS EXPOSITION. 

From Collection of Virginia Departmant of Agriculture. 

1. Steatite, from Courthouse— J. R. Tuggle. 

2. Kaolin from Blackstone — C. Hadder. 

3. Fine Granite, near Burkeville, used when railroads were built. 

PITTSYLVANIA 

was formed from Halifax in 1767. It is thirty-five miles long and about twenty- 
six wide, and is the third county in area in the State. It contains 518,429 acres, 
valued at 18,977,645; value of town lots, $118,230. Population, including the 
city of Danville, 52,580— white, 25,389 ; colored, 27,203. 

It is bounded on the north by Staunton river, and has Bannister and Dan rivers 
through the central and southern parts. These rivers and their tributary streams 
afford abundant water power and much fertile bottom land. The surface is roll- 
ing and hilly, with some low mountains. The soil is light gray and gravelly on 
the hills, while the low lands along the streams vary from a stiff red to a light, 
friable, sanly texture, and are very fertile. Tobacco, corn, wheat, oats, rye and 
the grasses are the chief farm products. The tobacco raised in Pittsylvania is 
largely of the bright, high priced kind, and is the main money crop. 



78 HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 

Danville is one of the chief tobacco marts of the State, and is a growing city, 
with many large manufacturing industries, and an important railroad centre. It 
is located on Dan river near the southern end of the county, and Is the terminus 
of four railroads. 

All parts of this county have convenient access to market by railroads crossing 
its territory. The Richmond and Danville enters from its eastern border, the 
Virginia Midland from the north traversing its greatest length, and the Danville 
and New River from the western line — all centre in the town of Danville. The 
Pittsylvania and Franklin railroad from Rocky Mount to Elba, on the line 
of the Midland railroad, taps a fine agricultural and mineral region in the 
northwest part of the county, and now that large subscriptions have been made 
by the counties through which it is pass, the completion of the Atlantic and Dari- 
ville railroad seems to be an assured fact. 

The mineral wealth of this county is very great, and was illustrated in part at 
the World's Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition by the following speci- 
mens : 

From Virginia Midland Railway Exhibit. 

1. Iron Ore, from Pittsville, contributed by Hood, of Pittsylvania Steel Com- 
pany. 

2. Barytes, from "Bennett" Mine, Pittsville. 

3. Barytes, from "Parker" Mines, Pittsville. 

4. Barytes, from "Thompson" Mines, two miles from Pittsville. 

5. Kaolin, from Railway Company's land. Motley station. 

6. Iron Ore, from Henderson & Bond, one-half mile from Motley. 

7. Asbestos, from Railway Company's land, Pittsville. 

8. Gray Granite, from Breem, one and a half miles from Dry Fork Station. 

From Virginia Department of Agriculture. 

1. Asbestos, from Walker Church. 

2, Red Oxide of Iron and Manganest, from N. W. Cobb, Calland's. 
• 3. Marble, from John L. Hurt. 

Collected by E. D. Frazer. 

4. Manganese, from Mrs. P. Snow, two miles north from Motley Station, Va., 
Midland railroad ; probably a large deposit. 

5. Limonite, brown iron ore, from Bond & Henderson's mine, one-half mile 
west from Motley Station. 

6. Magnetic Iron Ore, from Pittsville mine. 

7. Barytes, f lom mine of Pittsylvania Mining and Milling Company. 

8. Barytes, from mine of Tanner & Bliss, Pittsville. 

9. Manganese, from mine near Pittsville. , 
10. Barytes, from " Hamner " mine. 

POWHATAN 

was formed in 1777 from Cumberland county. It is 25 miles long and about 15 
miles wide, and contains 163,313 acres of land, valued at $974 476 ; value of town 
lots, $6,804. Population— white, 2,726 ; colored, 6,091 ; total, 7,817. It has 
James river for its north and Appomattox river for its south boundary, giving ex- 
tended water lines and marginal bottom lands of great fertility. 



HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 79 

The surface, off froaa the streams, is gently undulating, and the soil mostly 
gray and of a light, friable texture, with some stiff clays. The productions are 
tobacco, corn, wheat, oats and hay, tobacco being tiie principal money crop. 
Fruits and the vine succeed well in this county, and are receiving much more at- 
tention. No section of the State is healthier than this. It is comparatively free 
from malarial influences and below the cold and damp of higher altitudes. It is 
an excellent part of the State to live in, and immigrants will find cheap land, 
good homes, and an intelligent, hospitable people, with churches and schools con- 
venient. 

Coal, mica, kaolin, iron ore and graphite are found in Powhatan, speci- 
mens of which were exhibited at the World's Exposition at New Orleans, as fol- 
lows : 

1. Bituminous Coal, from Norwood mine, Charles R. Kennon. 

2. Graphite, Dr. W. H. Carhart, from collection of Virginia Department of 
Agriculture. 

3. FddspatTiic Ghieiss, from same as above. 

4. Kaolin, Dr. W. H. Carhart, from same as above. 

5. Iron Ore and Titanium, from Mr. Leake, collection of Virginia Department 
■of Agriculture. 

I insert here a more detailed description of this county, contributed by a cor- 
respondent : 

" This county — as the great number of spear heads, arrow points, tomahawks and 
other Indian relics found everywhere indicates — was at one time a favorite hunt- 
ing and battle ground of the Red man, and is happily named for one of their 
greatest chiefs. There is only lacking capital and well directed energy to make 
it an Eden for the white man. Its natural advantages cannot be surpassed— 
lying as it does near the centre of Eastern Virginia, between the James and Ap- 
pomattox river?, which constitute its northern and southern boundaries, respec- 
tively, and with the numerous creeks and branches flowing into them, assure to 
the agriculturi'^t a perfect drainage and an abundance of meadow land, besides 
furnishing an unlimited water power for manufacturing purposes. Railroad fa- 
cilities are indispensable to all business men — to the farmer especially so, as it 
assures to him a speedy market for his perishable products. A choice of "markets 
is a second great consideration ; proximity to, a third. This county offers all 
three. Through its eastern border runs the Richmond and Danville system of 
roads (the largest in the South) ; along its northern boundary the Richmond and 
Alleghany road, connecting Richmond and all points of the West. There is a 
third road soon to be built through the centre of the county, and these, with 
the Appomattox river as a water way, guarantee to settlers all needed facilities. 
Again, the centre of this county is only some 30 miles from Richmond,"the capital 
of Virginia, and her largest market and manufacturing centre. 

" The soil is alluvial, but varies greatly in its characteristics — from a light, sandy 
«oU, to heavy chocolate loam — thus furnishing soils admirably adaptedjto all the 
-cereals, garden truck, and tobacco. Even the thin lands are valuable, for 
on them tobacco of the finest bright type has been grown, bringing as high 
as $70 per cwt. On the divide, or water-shed of its two rivers, is a section of 
country that for its fruit-producing qualities has no superior. There, peaches are 
never killed by frost, and apples, pears, grapes, plums, damsons, «&c., reach great 
perfection. Powhatan apples and grapes carried off the largest number of pre- 
miums at the last State Fair. Grape culture is destined soon to lead most of the 



80 HAND-BOOK OF VIEGINIA. 

industries of this entire section. With us all of the cereals do well, where the- 
Boil has been properly prepared. Hay, too, is attracting the attention of our 
farmers much more than ever before. Clover, timothy and orchard grass are the 
principal varieties grown. The natural grasses abound, and in wet y'ars, such as 
the present, as much as two tons per acre of after-math can be cut on our meadow 
lands. We grow all of the grades of tobacco, from the beautiful bright leaf to 
the heavy dark shipping. The latter is much sought after by our Richmond buy- 
ers, samples of which may be seen at the oflSce of our State Commis?siouer of Agri- 
culture. 

" Our climate is very equable and healthy, having an average mean temperature 
similar to that of northern Spain and central Italy. Our lands are well timbered, 
with most of the harder woods — several varieties of oak, hickory, pine, maple,, 
birch, poplar, gums, cherry, and walnut. 

"The minerals are not wanting. In the eastern section of the county there is a 
large field of bituminous coal. The writer knows of veins from ^ix to twelve feet 
thick. Our clays are noted, particularly the clay from which the celebrated Pow- 
hatan pipe is manufactured. We also have several mineral springs of well known 
virtue. 

"Our county roads are fairly good ; churches of all denominations convenientljr 
located; public schools in every neighborhood, and saw and grist mills in close 
proximity. Labor is easily obtained, and averages for men, from eight to tea dol- 
lars per month, with dwelling and rations. 

" To all persons seeking healthy homes, cheap lands, easily improved, and a warm' 
and hospitable Virginia welcome, we ask an examination of our county of Pow- 
hatan, feeling well assured that they cannot do better. For any particular infor- 
mation a letter addressed to E. B. Scott & Co., Huguenot P. O., Va., will meet 
with prompt attention." 

PRINCE EDWARD 

was formed in 1753 from Amelia. It is 25 miles long and about 12 miles wide,, 
and contains 220,087 acres, valued at $1,314,667 ; value of town lots, $502,680^ 
Population— white, 4,754; colored, 9,914; total, 14,668. 

Appomattox river separates it from Cumberland and Buckingham, and by this 
stream and its numberless tributaries the county is well watered. The surface of 
this county is similar to those which adjoin it, being of a gently undulating char- 
acter, with good bottom lands on the streams. 

The soil Is mostly formed from graniric or gneissoid rock, and is productive and 
easily improved. The productions are tobacco, wheat, corn, oats and hay. This 
is a good tobacco county, and produces an article of fine quality. Farmville, in 
the northern part of the county, is a thriving town, and a place of considerable 
importance as a tobacco manufacturing centre, being the fifth largnst in the State. 
Near that place are found mineral waters containing a good proportion of lithia 
(see Cumberland county). Hampden Sidney College and the Union Theological 
Seminary are located near Farmville, also the State Normal School. 

Transportation facilities are convenient to all parts of the county, and are af- 
forded by the Noifolk and Western railroad passing through the northern por- 
tions, and the Richmond and Danville railroad in the southern parts. 

Forest trpcs — pine, poplar, black and sweet gum, silver maple, soveral varieties 
of hickory, white and red oak, willow oak, black and wliite walnut, mulberry, 
cedar, dogwood, wild cherry, locust, che.^tnut, chestnut oak, slippery elm, black 
elm, cork elm, sycamore, birch, beech, and willow. 



HAND-BOOK OP VIRGINIA. 81 

Springs of purest freestone water abound. There is no healthier region In the 
■world. Churf'hes and echools are convenient in every part. Labor costs from 
Ave to eight dollars per month, with board or rations. 

A moral, hoppitable people, good lands with houses and fences at cheap rates» 
offer strong inducements to the immigrant to settle in this healthy region. 

The minerals consist of iron, copper, mica, kaolin, soapstone, buhr-stone, 
building-stone, and coal, but have not been developed. The following specimen* 
were on exhibition at the World's Industrial and Cotton Centennial at New Or- 
leans, La. : 

1. Fire Clay, from land of Wm. T. Barrett, collected by Prof. W. H. Seamon. 

2. Bornite and Malachite Copper Ores. 

From Virginia Department of Agriculture : 

3. Copper Ore. 

4. Quartz, Fluorspar and Pyrite, from L. R. Howlett, Green Bay. 

5. Kaolin Balls, three, from four miles of Prospect Station, from G. W. Bell. 

6. Mica, from R. B. Wilson, Green Bay. 

7. Greenstone. 

PRINCE WILLIAM 

was formed in 1730 from Stafford and King George. It lies on the Potomac river, 
with Fairfax on the north, Loudoun and Fauquier on the west, and Stafford on 
the south. The surface is rolling and well watered. The soil is generally good, 
and there are many well improved farms. The productions are wheat, corn, oats, 
rye and grass in the western and middle, and trucking in the eastern portions. 

The timber consists of oak, pine, chestnut, hickory, and other woods. It has 
222,271 acres of land, assessed at $2,066,721 ; value of town lots, $76,860, Popu- 
lation—white, 6,580 ; colored, 2,600 ; total, 9,180. 

The Virginia Midland railroad traverses it in a southwest course, and the Ma- 
nassas Division to Strasburg penetrates the western part, while the Alexandria 
and Fredericksburg railroad runs through the eastern portion. The Potomac 
river furnishes water transportation and fine fishing shores. Occoquan river, 
forming part of its north boundary, drains most of the middle and western parts. 
The town of Manassas, at the junction of the Manassas branch of the Virginia 
Midland with the main stem, is a thriving and rapidly growing place. The battle 
of Manassas, celebrated as the first great conflict of the civil war, took its name 
from the place, which was fortified as a strategic point of much importance. The 
country around is picturesque and of pastoral beauty, and is steadily improving. 

Gold, copppr, barytes, slate, soapstone, brownstone, marble and limestone are 
found in this county. Prince William was represented at the World's Industrial 
and Cotton Exposition, New Orleans, by the following specimens of minerals : 

From Virginia Midland Railway Company's exhibit. 

1. Glass Sand, from Broad Run Station, from J. O. Blythe. 

2. Brownstone^ a block from Lynch's quarry, two miles from Manassas. 

3. Brownstone, a block from quarry of Mayfield Brownstone Company near 
Manassas. 

, From Prof. Fontaine. 

1. Lignite, from Neabsco creek on Telegraph road. 

2. Silidfied Wood, from same locality as above. 



82 HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA, 



SPOTSYLVANIA 

was formed in 1720 from Essex, King "William and King and Queen counties. It 
is 23 by 17 miles in extent, and contains 258,420 acres of land, assessed at $1,196,561. 
Population— white, 8,422 ; colored, 6,406; total, 14,828. 

The surface is mostly undulating, with much fertile bottom land on the numer- 
ous streams which form its drainage system. It lies between the Rappahannock 
and North Anna rivers, which form respectively its north and south borders. The 
interior is watered by the numerous tributaries of these rivers and of the Matta- 
poni. Tlie wide bottom lands on these streams produce fine crops of corn, melons 
and vegetables. The soil of tliis county varies greatly, much of the upland being 
of tenacious clay, while that of the bottoms is mostly of a light, sandy texture. 

The productions, besides those mentioned above, are wheat, oats, rye andgraiS. 
Large quantities of poultry, vegetables and fruits are sold in the Fredericksburg 
and other markets. 

Fredericksburg is the principal city, and is one of the oldest in the State. It 
has a population of 4,970, and is located on the south bank of Rappahannock 
river at the head of navigation, with lines of steamers to Chesapeake bay and 
Northern cities. 

Besides water transportation, this county has two railway lines — the Richmond, 
I'l-odericksburg and Potomac railroad, and the Orange and Fredericksburg Nar- 
row-Gauge railway to Orange Courthouse, where it connects with the Virginia 
Midland. 

Gold, iron, granite and sandstone ai'e found in Spotsylvania. 

The oldest furnace in America of wliich we have any certain knowledge was 
*'Spotswood," in this county, described by Colonel Byrd in the " Westover Man- 
uscript" a century and a half ago. 

SPOTSYLVANIA COUNTY MINERALS AT THE NEW ORLEANS EXPOSITION. 

1. Iron Ore. 

2. Decomposed Pyrite, from Virginia Department of Agriculture. 

The following were collected by E. D. Frazier, Esq. : 

3. Blue Granite, from falls of Rappahannock, one mile northwest from Frede- 
ricksburg. 

4. Gray Granite, from Mrs. Downman's quarry, one mile west from Frede- 
ricksburg. 

5. Sandstone, from quarry of D. E. Fleming at Fredericksburg. 

6. Sulphurets, gold-bearing, from Greenwood Gold Mine. 

7. Petrified Wood. 

8. Hematite Iron Ore, from abundant "float," on Hazard property. 

9. Limonite, brown iron ore from land of Wm. Tabb, Tinder's Crossing P. O. 

10. Limonite, brown iron ore, from land of G. R. Fox, six miles south from 
Parker's Station. 

11. Limonite, brown iron ore, from land of James Buchanan, five miles east 
from Parker's Station. 

12 . Manganiferous Iron Ore, from land of the Wilderness Mining Company, 
live miles south from Parker's Station. • 

13. Gold-bearing Quartz, from " Wliitehall" Gold Mine, three and half miles 
■south from Parker's Station. 



HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 83 

14. Oold-hearing Slate, decomposed, from same locality. 

15. Gold Ore, decomposed vein matter, from same. Runs $25 per ton of ore. 

16. Sulphurets, accompanying gold-bearing quartz and black sand, same. 

17. Pyrites, from same. 

18. Magnetite, magnetic iron ore, from mine of Marysville Bloomery. 

19. Limonite, brown iron ore, from mine of "Catherine" Furnace, on battle- 
field of Chancellorsville. 

20. Pig Iron, charcoal, from old "Catherine " Furnace. 

21. Blast-Furnace Cinder, from pile at old " Catherine " Furnace. 

22. Limonite, brown iron ore, from mine Marysville Bloomery. 

23. Gold-bearing Quartz, from " Vaucluse " Gold Mine, seven miles northeast 
from Parker's Station. 

24. Gold-bearing Quartz, from " Mellville " Gold Mine, seven and a half miles 
northeast from Parker's Station. 

25. Sulphurets, from " Vaucluse " Gold Mine, seven miles northeast from 
Parker's Station. 

26. Free Gold, from "Whitehall" Gold Mine, three and a half miles from 
Parker's Station. 

STAFFORD 

was formed in 1765 from Westmoreland. Population — white, 5,558 ; colored, 
1,653 ; total, 7,218. Area, 163,196 acres, assessed at $906,743 ; value of town lots, 
$256. 

The Potomac forms the eastern and the Rappahannock the southern bounda- 
ries. Numerous creeks emptying into these rivers penetrate the interior, and are 
navigable to considerable distances. All these waters abound in valuable food 
fishes of many sorts, aflfording a handsome revenue to the owners and profitable 
employment to labor. They are also valuable for the water-powers utilized for 
mills, &c. 

The surface is rolling, the soil naturally good, and readily responsive to amelio- 
rating methods of farming. Marl and lime are being applied and the effects most 
beneficial. 

The products are corn, wheat and oats, which are the main crops, and are profit- 
ably cultivated. Trucks and fruits are also' profitable branches of agriculture. 
€lover and orchard grass yield good returns, and the grazing and rearing of sheep 
and early lambs for the near markets of the District of Columbia and Baltimore 
add greatly to the farmer's profits. Access to market is convenient by water 
and by the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac railroad. 

This county has abundance of forest land covered with oak, hickory, pine, wal- 
nut, elm, ash and other trees belonging to this section of the State. The minerals 
are gold, iron ore, and excellent sandstone for building purposes. 

The people are kind and hospitable, the climate healthy and pleasant, land 
cheap, facilities for pleasant living and access to market all that could be desired. 
With all these advantages, it would seem hard to find a region better adapted to 
furnish good homes for the intending immigrant. The religious and educational 
advantages are good, the various denominations being represented and schools 
abundant. 

Farming lands can be bought from $2 to $15 per acre, the latter price for very 
productive land. Some recent sales have been made for barely the cost of the 
improvements. The average yield per acre of crops is about as follows : Wheat, 
8 to 20 bushels ; corn, 25 to 30 bushels. Labor can be had from eight to ten dol- 
lars per month, with board or rations. 



84 HAND-BOOK OP VIRGINIA. 



THE PIEDMONT DIVISION. 



This f ection of Virginia, as its name implies, lies at the foot of the Blue Ridgt 
Mountains. This range of mountains extends from the Potomac river, at or near 
Harper's Ferry, to the Dan river, which forms the dividing line at the point where 
the range crosses it between Virginia and North Carolina. Its direction is north- 
east and southwest ; length about 250 mile& 

The general elevation of this section ranges between 300 and 500 feet above tide- 
water. The sub-range of mountain ridges that runs through and parallel to the 
Blue Ridge in many points attains to altitudes of 100 to 600 feet higher. The 
area included in this section is about 250 miles long by 25 miles (average) wide — 
making about 6,700 square miles. 

Lying at the foot of the Blue Ridge, its western border is indented by spurs 
running into it. Between these spurs there are coves of many sizes and shapes, 
watered b}'^ streams — the headwaters of rivers flowing east. This eastern slope 
of lands is broken by the sub-range of mountains above referred to, but the alti- 
tude and surface of this range are not of such a nature as to prevent cultivation 
and grazing on the highest points. 

For beauty of landscape, variety of scenery, native fertility of soil, water 
courses contributing to practical benefit as well as to beauty of scenery, this sec-- 
tion is surpassed by few, if any other sections in the United States. 

Dr. Ellzey, of Washington City, D. C, in an Address before the Southern Im- 
migration Association, says : " In its physical features, picturesque and lovely to 
an unusual degree ; in climate, temperate and healthful ; in the abundance and 
variety of its productions, unsurpassed ; in all that makes life desirable and home 
what it should be, there is no place in this world which suspasses Piedmont Vir- 
ginia — there are very few which come near it," 

The countifs composing this section are Loudoun, Fauquier, Culpeper, Rappa- 
hannock, Madison, Greene, Orange, Albemarle, Nelson, Amherst, Bedford^ 
Franklin, Henry, Patrick, in all — 14. (Detailed descriptions of these are given 
below). 

Reference to the map of Virginia will show how this section is watered. The 
main rivers flowing through it or by its northern and southern boun<laries are the 
Potomac, Rappahannock, Rivanna, James, Roanoke, and Dan. Besides theaeare 
numerous smaller rivers and creeks, formed by living springs. It would be safe 
to say that few areas of an hundred acres could be found in which one or more 
living streams is not found. None of these streams are navigable, nor any of 
them at present used for transportation within the bounds of this section, except 
in small batteaux for limited distances. 

The highest mountains found in this section are "Peaks of Otter" (one 4,000 
and the other 3,874 feet high) in Bedford county ; " Fork," 3,850, "Bluff," 3,522,. 



HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 85 

*' Ragged," 3,298 f^et, in Madison county ; " Cahas," 3,571, in Franklin county ; 
Mount Marshall, 3 374, in Rappatiannock county; *'Bnll," 3,215, in Patrick 
county ; "Tobacco Row," 2,937 feet, in Amherst county; "Bull Run," 1,374, in 
Fauquier county, and "Peters," 1,824 feet, in Orange county. 

RAILWAYS. 

Reference to the map will show the conveniency aflforded this section by rail- 
ways. The Baltimore and Ohio railroad skirts the northeast line of Loudoun 
county for a considerable distance, and the Washington and Western runs through 
the county. The Manassas Gap and Warrenton branches of the Virginia Midland 
railroad penetrate Fauquier. The Virginia Midland railroad runs through the 
counties of Culpoper, Orange, Albemarle, Nelson and Amherst. The county of 
Orange is also touched by the Fredericksburg and Piedmont (N. G.) railroad at 
Orange Courthouse, and by Chesapeake and Ohio railway at Gordonsville. Al- 
bemarle has the latter railroad traversing it from east to west, and the Richmond 
and Alleghany railroad on its southern border. Nelson has the Richmond and 
Alleghany on its southeast border, and is penetrated by the Virginia Midland rail- 
road. Amhersr, is skirted on its southern border by the Richmond and Alleghany 
railroad for many miles, and is penetrated by the Virginia Midland railroad, and 
has the Norfolk and Western skirting its southern border below Lynchburg. 
Bedford is skirted by the Richmond and Alleghany railroad for some distance on 
its northern border, and the Norfolk and Western penetrntes it. Franklin has 
the Pittsylvania and Franklin railroad (N. G.) running from the Virginia Mid- 
land railroad to Rocky Mount (the C. H.) Henry and Patrick are penetrated by 
the Danville and New River railroad (N. G.) Rappahannock, Madison and Greene 
counties are not reached by any railroad at present, but are not far distant from 
the Virginia Midland railroad. 

This section contains 11,024 farms. Number of acres of improved land, 
1,951,427; acres unimproved, 1,850,149; total, 3,791,576. Woodland covers about 
one-half the surface. The woodland consists of the following kinds of growth: 
Oak (many species), hickory, chestnut, locust, walnut, pine, cedar, beech, birch, 
gum, tulip, poplar, &c. The soil of Piedmont Virginia is mainly red in color, 
and much heavier than what is found in the Middle section. Prof. W. B. Rogers 
says: '-In Piedmont the red color of the soil, derived from epidote and horn- 
blende, is due to the large proportion of oxide of ron they contain — sometimes 
amounting ro thirty per cent." 

Hotchkiss says : " The red or chocolate colored soils of this section, formed 
from the decomposed, dark, greenish-blue sandstone here found, is generally con- 
sidered the most fertile. This sandstone contains several per cent, of carbonate 
of lime. The other soils of this region are gray or yellowish. These are by no 
means as fertile as the darker soils ; but there are red soils here as in Middle Vir- 
ginia that are al-o poor, and for the same reasons." 

The soils of Piedmont are undoubtedly many of them among the most fertile 
known, and can be made to produce a great variety and abundance of crops. 
They are easily worked; if neglected they are soon covered by a growth of 
underbrush. 

Mean temperature of Piedmont — annual, . - . - 53.7 
" " " " — winter, . ... 44 

" " " " —summer, ... - 78 

Rainfall, 32 to 44 inches. 

In the detailed description of the counties composing this section will be found 



86 HAND-BOOK OP VIRGINIA. 

lists of minerals, and also of the manufacturing establishments lying in this sec- 
tion, as well as some other matters of interest, especially to those who may b© 
looking to this section for homes and investments. 

GRAPE CULTURE AND ORCHARDS. 

In latter years the success in raising the grape in a number of counties in this 
section has largely increased the production of that fruit and the manufacture of 
wine. In 1876 the silver medal was awarded to the wine made by a company at 
Charlottesville, in Albemarle county, at the Paris Exposition — the only one re- 
ceived for excellence. This called attention to the products of the vineyards of 
that locality. Since that time great progress has been made in the raising of 
grapes. The fruit is largely shipped abroad and the surplus made into wine. 

Two companies having wine cellars are in operation at Charlottesville, and many 
parties have found their lands peculiarly suited to the raising of the vine, and have 
devoted considerable areas to its culture. 

It is believed by good judges that the Piedmont section, particularly some large 
areas of it, is the best apple region in Virginia or any other State. The "Albe- 
marle Pippin "" has attained to great reputation as an apple for export. As such 
it is much sought after, being esteemed the best apple ever carried to England. 
It special home seems to be confined, however, to the counties of Albemarle, 
Orange, Amherst and Nelson, possibly because these counties have given it more 
attention. 

IMMIGRATION TO PIEDMONT 

has been mainly to the counties of Albemarle, Orange, Loudohn, Bedford and 
Culpeper. The largest nationality represented in this is the English. Some of 
the finest estates in these counties have passed into their hands. Colonists from 
the Northern States have also settled in this section to a considerable extent. 
With a wise and timely sub-division of the land of this section, this immigration 
will largely increase, and, added to the natural increase of population, will make 
this section a densely peopled country, uniting as it does, to an eminent degree, 
the great elements of prosperity, viz : agriculture, minerals, and manufacturing 
sites and facilities. 

TOBACCO CULTURE. 

For the ten years 1870-80 tobacco culture has increased from 9,970,580 pounds 
to 21,512,805 pounds. Its production, however, is mainly confined to the counties 
of Greene, Orange, Albemarle, Nelson, Amherst, Bedford, Franklin, Henry, and 
Patrick — Bedford, Amherst and Franklin being the heaviest producers. 

PEOULIARITIES OF THIS SECTION AND SPECIAL ADVANTAGES AS A 
HEALTH RESORT. 

Major Jed. Hotchkiss, in The Virginias, June, 1884, says: "We would call 
attention to the fact that the Blue Ridge region in Virginia is, as can be proven 
by the testimony of consumptives fully restored to health, the best Sanitarium in 
the United States east of the Mississippi. The sheltered eastern slopes of the 
long stretch of that mountain range in Virginia, above the line of 1,000 feet of 
elevation above the ocean level and under that of 2,500, oflFers hundreds of locali- 
ties for health resorts for people afflicted with pulmonary diseases, that surpass 
any others that we know of or have read of. During the past thirty-six years the 
writer has frequently recommended this region to persons having such diseases, 



HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. ST 

and ia every case where the advice was followed, a restoration to health has re- 
sulted. If anyone is fekeptical about the efficacy of the Blue Kidge air, water and 
exercises, as remedial agents for lung troubles, let him spend a few months at 
some point in this belt, and we will make him the referee to sustain the opinion 
here advanced. A young man from Vermont, a victim of this especially fearful 
New England disease, took his advice and spent the winter of 18S2-S3 there, and 
went away with restored health that still continues. We could name other cases. 

" About the best such people could do would be to buy a few acres of the Sun- 
ward dry air slop© of the Blue Kidge in Virg'nia, and busy themselves raising 
grapes and other fruits while inhaling health and strength. There are at least 
200,000 acres of such sanitary country for occupation, room for 20,000 people with 
ten acres for each, and none of it remote from railways or markets ; and here, 
too, is the region for building up extensive establishments for health and pleasure 
that will have a large all-the-year-round patronage." 

General McDonald, editor of the '■^Industrial South,^^ referring to the above, 
says : " We may say that we have some personal knowledge of the particular lo- 
cality mentioned, and from our own observation are quite inclined to acquiesce in 
the opinion of Major Hotchklss. Among others whom we met at Afton (in this 
belt) was a very intelligent and pleasant gentleman in the government service at 
Washington, from whom we learned that, being subject to rheumatism, he thought 
it well, before determining where he would spend his summer vacation, to consult 
the Signal Bureau — the desideratum being a dry atmosphere. The officers exam- 
ined their records, and reported to him that the dryest mountain atmosphere of 
which they had knowledge was at a place on the Blue Ridge called Afton — of 
wluch he had never before heard — and his experience had attested the correctness 
of the advice that sent him there. So dry is the atmosphere that a newspaper 
spread on the grass at night shows no sign of moisture next morning, altbougli. 
the night is much cooler than the day." 



58 HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 



COUNTIES OF PIEDMONT VIRGINIA. 



GROUPING IN NATURAL SUB-DIVISIONS. COUNTIES. 

Potomac Waters { FaSqm"er! 



fCulpeper. 

ir 



Rappahannock 

Rappahannock Waters ] Madison. 

Greene. 
[ Orange. 

(Albemarle. 
Nelson. 
Amherst. 

^ . /Bedford. 

Staunton Waters \ Franklin, 

^ ,^ , r Henry. 

Dan Waters \ Patrick. 



HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. S9 



PIEDMONT YIRGINIA. 



ALBEMARLE 

is one of the largest counties of the State, its area being 463,228 acres, thirty-seven 
per cent, woodland, assessed at $4,559,634 ; value of town lots, $1,733,980, Pop- 
ulation, 32,628— white, 15,959; colored, 16,659. 

Its southern boundary is James river, its western the Blue Ridge mountains. 
A sub-range of mountains passes through it, which, with the main range and 
spurs, makes the surface very diversified. "There is a large proportion of fine 
farming land in the county. It is well watered by the James, the Rivanna and 
the Hardware, and their tributaries. These streams furnish abundant water- 
power, some of which is well utilized. The soil is mainly dark red, well adapted 
to the staple crops of the Piedmont section, and particularly so for clover, apples, 
grapes and fruits generally. The Albemarle Pippin took its name from this county, 
and here reaches its greatest perfection. In no county of the State has the cu^ 
ture of the grape been so saccessful. The fruit is largely sold and the wine has 
a high reputation. 

There are two large wine cellars at Charlottesville — that of the Monticello 
Wine Company has a capacity of 150,000 gallons, which can be increased to 
200,000 gallons by the use of larger casks, and that of Mr. Hotopp has a capacity 
of 50,000 gallons, to which he is now excavating an addition of 70,000 gallons. 
Mr. Hotopp has also a house cellar of 30,000 gallon capacity now in use. Large 
plantings of vines are being made yearly. 

This county has- fine transportation facilities to markets in all directions, by 
means of the Chesapeake and Ohio railway crossing its territory from east to 
west, and the Virginia Midland from north to south, (these roads cross each other 
at Charlottesville, the county seat), and the Richmond and Alleghany railroad 
passing along the south border. The minerals of this county are varied and val- 
uable, consisting of iron, gold, lead, manganese, slate, soapstone, limestone, mar- 
ble, sandstone and granite. 

Albemarle has a number of towns and villages — Charlottesville in the centre 
and Scottsville in the southern border being the principal. At the latter place 
the James River Valley Agricultural Fair is held annually. 

Chalottesville, the county seat, is a thrivmg town on the Rivanna river, in the 
most beautiful part of this picturesque region. Population, about 5,000. It is now 
rapidly improving, has recently been lighted with gas, and is abundantly supplied 
with pure water by natural fall from a mountain stream a few miles distant. The 
same reservoir supplies the University of Virginia, which is situated in the su- 
burbs of the town. 

Albemarle presents many varied attractions which settlers are not slow to avaii 
6 



90 HAND-BOQK OP VIRGINIA. 

themselves of. Besides being one of the most fertile counties of Piedmont Vir- 
ginia and the centre of a great fruit producing region, it is the seat of two noble 
institutions— the University of Virginia and the Miller Manual Labor School. The 
University at Charlottesville is too well known to need a minute description here. 
SntBce it to say that it is second to no institution of learning on the continent, 
and is attracting great numbers of students from all quarters of the country. 
The location is one of unsurpassed beauty. 

The " Miller Manual Labor School " is now in full tide of successful operation. 
Magnificently endowed by the late Samuel Miller, of Lynchburg, a native of Al- 
bemarle, and splendidly equipped for the object indicated by its name— giving a 
technical education to boys — this school is being so conducted as to justify the 
most sanguine anticipations of its founder. More than two hundred boys are 
bemg educated here. In connection with the institution a productive farm of one 
thousand acres is cultivated on scientific principles. Probably there is no instance 
in this country where a large bequest for an object like this has been administered 
with greater wisdom and fidelity. 

Besides these noted institutions there are many private schools, both male and 
female — some of them widely known; and a well organized system of free 
schools. 

There are many English and Northern settlers in this beautiful county. 

Albemarle spent $15,000 in 1884-5 in permanent improvements on its roads, 
preparatory to putting them under contract, and now pays about $4,000 annually 
to have them kept in repair. 

Between 1880 and 1885 the value of the farming lands increased from $4,765,132 
to $5,371,705— $606,573, about 13J per cent., according to the State assessments. 
In 1880 farm lands away from the towns sold for from $5 to $30 per acre ; in 1885 
tftey sold for from $5 to $50 per acre. 

Vineyards, orchards, &c., in 1880, about 800 acres ; in 1886, about 2,000 acres. 

Labor is of good quality, in sufiicient quantity, and rather higher. In 1880 a 
man got forty cents per day and board ; in 1886 he gets fifty cents per day and 
board for ordinary farm work. Good laborers by the year run from $120 to $150, 
with board, house, &c. 

Clover seed has become one of the regular crops on many farms, ^nd from one 
to three bushels per acre is reaped. 

The taxes in this county for all purposes have never reached one per cent., and 
generally range from 75 to 90 cents on the $100. The debt of the county is about 
$20,000, payable in instalments of $2,000 to $3,000 per annum. 

Albemarle county had on exhibition at New Orleans the following specimens of 
minerals, collected by Professor W. H. Seamon of the Miller School. These and 
others to be collected by Professor Seamon are placed in trays, with compart- 
ments made of native woods by the boys of the Miller School, and the localities 
from which they were obtained indicated on a map of Albemarle county prepared 
at this school : 

1. Species of Granite, from North Garden station, Virginia Midland railroad. 

2. Magnetic Iron Or&, from Mrs. Martin's land, near North Garden ; mine for- 
merly worked. 

3. Soapstone, cut samples, from Albemarle quarry, five miles east from North 
Garden station. 

4. Iron Ore, specimens from Yates' farm, near Albemarle quarry. 

6. Slate, highly charged with graphite, same locality as 4 ; probably valuable. 



HAND-BOOK OF VIEGINIA. 91 

6. Igneous Diorite, a parallelopipedon from Dike near Faber station, Virginia 
Midland railroad ; shows peculiar manner this reck weathers. 

7. Mica Schist, from Faber Lead Mines. 

8. Mica Schist, another variety from same place. 

9. Ores and minerals of various kinds, six or seven specimens from Faber Lead 
Mines. 

10. Slate, charged with micaceous iron ore, from Norvell's farm, near How- 
ardsville. 

11. Brown Hematite Iron Ore, float, from same place as 10. 

12. Manganese Ore, from same place as 10. 

13. Puddingstone Conglomerate, from Howardsville. 

14. Bed Sandstone, from near Howardsville. 

15. Felsite, from Israel Mountain. 

16. Blue Quartz, from Israel Mountain. Thin sections of this show rutile, 

17. Massive White Quartz, from Miller School farm. 

18. White Quartz, from Israel Mountain, filled with muscovite. 

19. Calico RocTc, from north branch of Mechum river. 

20. Hydro mica Slate*, from Miller School farm. . « 

21. Quartz Crystals, from Miller School farm. 

22. Oxide of Iron, pseudomorph, after pyrite, from various parts of county. 

23. Bmenite, from Israel Mountain. 

The following specimens were kindly lent by Professor Wm. M. Fontaine, of 
the University of Virginia, from his collection : 

24. Slate, with dendritic markings, from Albemarle Slate Quarry. 

25. Granitic Granulite, suitable for mill stones, from Moorman river, where it 
is in vast quantities. 

26. Sandstone, from Moorman river, from point west of Whitehall ; very abun- 
dant. 

27. Metamorphic Conglomerate, from Rockflsh Gap tunnel, Chesapeake and 
Ohio railway. 

28. Epidote, from same locality. 

The following was shown in the exhibit of the Virginia Midland railroad, from 
Albemarle county : 

1. Graphite Slate, three-quarters of a mile from Charlottesville. 

2. Slate, a slab, from Albemarle Slate Co., six miles from Charlottesville. 

3. Iron Ore, from Stony Point. 

4. Wine, three cases from Wm. Hotopp, Charlottesville. 

5. Wine and Brandy, one case from Monticello Wine Co., Charlottesville. 

6. Soapstone, a block from Albemarle Soapstone Co., five miles from North 
Garden station. 

The following were collected by Prof. W. H. Seamon, of the Miller School : 

29. Purple Roofing Slate, from the Albemarle Slate Quarry, ten miles south 
from Charlottesville. 

30. Green Roofi,ng Slate, from same locality as above, 

31. Tile Slates, from same. 

32. Marbleized Slate, for mantels, &c., made at works of above quarry. 



92 HAND-BOOK OP VIRGINIA. 

33. Iron Ore, from Stony Point. 

34. Iron Nodule, showing blaclj; velvety surface with crystals of white quartz, 
fronj Stony PcJint. 

35. Magnetic Iron Ore, from Israel Mountain. 

36. Quartz Crystals, from Stony Point. 

37. Sandstone, from ridge south of Charlottesville, used for foundation walls of 
Lewis Brooks Museum. 

38. Mica Schist, quarried near gas works, Charlottesville, for curbstones, &c. 

39. Mica Schist, from near Bethel station, Virginia Midland Railway. 

40. Quartz, from east flank of Carter's mountain. 

41. Oranite, from Dr. Michie's, near Piney mountain. 

42. Syenite, from same locality as 41. 

43. Slate, from Slate Hill Church. 

44. Quartzite, feldspathic, from near Batesville. 

45. Hydro-mica Schist ; Batesville. ^ 

46. Greenstone, with quartz and pyrite, from near Powell's. 

47. Red Sandstone Conglomerate, at Dyer's store, Scottsville. 

48. Red Sandstone, from same as above. 

49. Red Sandstone Conglomerate, from same. 

50. Red Oxide of Iron, from same. 

51. Coarse Felsite, from Blue Eidge, at Turk's Gap. 

52. Syenite, from Miller Sch»ol farm. 

53. Blueish Sandstone, from east flank of Carter's mountain. 

54. Syenite, containing hydro-mica, from near Brownsville. 

55. Gneiss, from Morris' mill, near Batesville. 

56. Greenstone, from Powell's mill, near Croaet station, C. & O. railway. 

57. Gneiss, or calico rock, from Ivy station, C. & O. railway. 

58. Felsite, from near North Garden station, Virginia Midland railway. 

59. Feldspar Conglomerate, from Blue Ridge, at Greenwood station, C. and O. 
railway. 

60. Feldspathic Rock, from same locality. 

61. Fpidosyte, same locality. 

62. Epidote and Calcite, from Blue Ridge, at Turk's Gap, 

63. Quartzite, feldspathic, from same locality. 

64. Hornblende Schist, with epidote, quartz and pyrite, same locality. 

65. Hornblende Slate, from same locality. 

66. Quartz, with crystals of epidote ; same. 

67. Conglomerate, same locality. 

68. CAer^, same locality. 

69. Pudding Stone, containing epidote, feldspar and hornblende ; same locality. 

70. Talcose- Schist, containing grains of amethystine quartz ; same locality. 

71. Conglomerate, same locality. 

72. Greenish Schist, same locality. 

73. Quartzite, same locality. 

74. Quartz, showing jointed structure. 

75. Red Soil, from foot of Southwest mountain ; results from decomposition of 
epidotic rock. 

7G. Bedded Diorite, from Miller School farm. 

77. Mica-Schist, from Miller School farm. 

78. Sandy Soil, from Mechum river bottom lands, Miller School farm. 

79. Loam, from liillsides of Miller School farm. 



HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 93 

80. Map of Albemarle County, made by pupils ot Miller School, showing location 
of above minerals. 

AMHERST 

was formed in 1761 from Albemarle. It lies on the north bank of James river, 
which forms the boundaries of two of its sides a distance of over fifty miles. The 
allavial lands of this river with those on the Pedlar and Buffalo rivers, which in- 
tersect the county, are very fertile, adapted to growth of all the grains, grasses, 
and fruits, while tobaccos of the heaviest grade and finest texture are abundantly 
grown. " The red lands of the county along the valleys and spurs of the Blue 
Ridge and Tobacco Row mountains are among the finest in the State, and in addi- 
tion to usual crops is finely suited to grapes and fruits. The celebrated Albemarle 
Pippin succeed admirably here, while the sides of these mountains present the 
finest opening for successful vine culture. The Richmond and Alleghany, Vir- 
ginia Midland, and Norfolk and Western railways offer markets in Lynchburg, 
Richmond, Alexandria, Danville, Washington and the great cities north. In min- 
erals the rich hematite, magnetic and specular u:on ores of the Central Virginia 
Iron <)ompany, the Dover Coal and Iron Company and numerous individual land 
owners offer fields for profitable investment. Iron ore of best quality is now being 
supplied from the lands of the Central Virginia Iron Company to the Lynchburg 
furnace. The iron and steel from these ores is of superior quality ; some of these 
veins analyzed as high as 68 per cent, iron, and are said to be the best south of 
Lake Superior. The county is also penetrated by numerous veins of copper ore 
which have once been worked ; also marble and plumbago are both found. Along 
the Blue Ridge abundant and rich deposits of tin ore are now being developed, 
which, at no distant day, are expected to bring abundant capital for investment. 
The timber consists of oak, hickory, walnut, pine, chestnut, maple, dogwood, pop- 
lar, cherry, locust, mulberry, &c. 

" We are awaking from a Rip Vail Winkle sleep on the subject of roads, and if 
we push the present system will soon compare favorably with our neighboring 
counties in good public roads. Good wagon roads will develope the magnificent 
resources of this county and be more likely, in the writer's opinion, to invite im- 
migration and capital than railroads. The cattle trade of the county is consider- 
able ; many cattle are bought in the counties south, and grazed upon the fine 
grass lands of the mountains. Bee culture has enlisted some attention and those 
who have embarked in it have found it profitable. The lands are cheap and those 
contemplating purchasing will find an inviting field." 

This rich and beautiful county is twenty-two miles long, and has a mean width 
of nineteen miles, and contains 288,739 acres, valued at $1,953,714; value of town 
lots, $81,950. Population, 18,703— white, 10,001 ; colored, 8,702. 

Its main market is Lynchburg, with which it is connected by a free bridge. 
Amherst C. H. is a pleasant little town on the Virginia Midland railroad, which 
runs through the county. The Richmond and Alleghany R. R. runs along its 
southern border for some distance, and the Norfolk and Western runs on its bor- 
der below Lynchburg for about six miles. The county is susceptible of great de- 
velopment. 

The minerals found here are varied and immensely valuable. Great deposits of 
magnetic and specular iron ores are found here suited for the manufacture of steel 
by the Bessemer process, and of a purity not excelled by any ores south of Lake 
Superior. The brown hematite iron ores are also in great abundance, and are 
cheaply mined, and scarcely less valuable than the specular and magnetic. These 



94 HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 

ores are found in contact with or in the vicinity of limestone. There are 
many mines of these ores worked in the county. Copper, lead, slate and tin are 
also found in Amherst. 

Specimens of minerals from Amherst county exhibited at the New Orleans 
World's Exposition : • 

The following were contributed by Col. Dunlap : 

1. Magnetic and Specular Iron Ores, from Maud Vein Mines, near Stapleton, 
Richmond and Alleghany railroad. 

2. Syenite, blue granite, from Bent Creek, near Gladstone station, Richmond 
and Alleghany railroad. 

3. Boofing Slate, from Snowden Slate Quarry, near Rope Ferry station, Rich- 
mond and Alleghany railroad. 

4. Iron Ore, from near Riverville station, Richmond and Alleghany railroad. 

5. Steel Iron Ore, of Vein No. 6, near above locality. 

6. Steel Iron Ore, of Vein No. 6J, near above locality. 

7. Copper Ores, carbonates, malachite, bornite, azurite, red oxide and copper 
glance — yielding from 27 to 49 per cent, metallic copper, from Piedmont Copper 
Mines in Glades. 

The following are from Prof. Fontaine, of the University of Virginia : 

8. Syenite, from Balcony Falls, occurs in large quantities. 

9. Syenite, from Piney river, in large quantities. 

10. Granulite, from Balcony, would make a handsome building stone. 

11. Bornite and Stalactic Copper Ores, from Dr. Charles Slaughter's. 

12. Magnetic Iron Ore, from 4 feet ledge of solid ore on Indian creek. 

BEDFORD 

was formed in 1753 from Lunenburg. The extreme length from north to south 
is forty miles, its width about thirty miles. It contains 490,733 acres of land, as- 
sessed at $3,148,235. Population, 31,205— white, 18,528 ; colored, 12,677. 

The surface is broken, and the western part mountainous. The Peaks of Otter 
in this county are among the loftiest in the Southern States, and afford a magnifi- 
cent view of the surrounding country. The county is well watered by springs of 
the purest water, brooks and creeks. The lands are productive and when properly 
farmed produce floe crops of tobacco, cereals and almost every variety of the 
grasses. Blue-grass is indigenous and aflfords fine grazing for sheep and other 
stock. Land plaster acts finely upon these lands. In the greater part of the 
county we find the red clay lands, in others light gray or slate ; on the two last 
fine bright tobacco is grown to great perfection ; notably is this the case in the 
Goose creek valley. Land sells from one dollar to fifty per acre, improved land 
usually sells from eight to twenty dollars per acre. On the southern slope of the 
Blue Ridge mountain and its numerous spurs grapes grow in great perfection, and 
a superior quality of wine is made. Fruits do well here, notably apples. 

" There is no healthier county in the State. All the boarding houses and hotels 
in the county are filled during the summer months with people from the Southern 
States. The Norfolk and Western railroad passes through the centre of the county 
and has six depots and stations within its limits. The Richmond and Alleghany 
railroad runs along the northeastern border for twenty miles and has several stations 



HAND-BOOK OP VIRGINIA. 9^ 

and depots. The roads and turnpikes of the county will compare favorably with 
those of any county in " Piedmont " and the Valley. 

" Liberty, the county seat, is situated near the centre of the county and is a 
flourishing town of some two or three thousand inliabitants, is noted for its health- 
fulness, has some eight or nine large tobacco factories, two large tobacco ware- 
houses, one woolen mill, two flouring mills, one spoke factory and a planing mill 
and machine shop, besides other industries. The town is supplied with pure 
water brought by pipes from the Peaks of Otter. There is an Episcopal, Presby- 
terian, Methodist, Baptist and a Catholic church in the place, besides one or two 
churches for the colored. 

" Bufordville, situated on Norfolk and Western railroad, is a village of one hun- 
dred and twenty-five inhabitants, with a Presbyterian and Episcopal church, two 
large hotels for summer boarders, stores, school, shops of various kinds, depot, 
Ac. The hotels are filled every summer. This village is near the northwestern 
extremity of Goose creek valley, the most productive section of the county. 
There has been shipped from the Bufordville depot from January 1st, 1886, to 1st 
September, 1886, 510,550 pounds of tobacco, which, owing to the low prices now 
prevailing, has not averaged more than eighteen dollars per hundred. 

"In this valley we have limestone in abundance ; sheep do well, pay one hundred 
per cent.; cattle are at home here ; lands are comparatively cheap ; new comers will 
be kindly received." 

We append the following interesting extract from a letter sent by three leading 
citizens of Bedford : 

" Mr. Glen Walker, an Englishman, bought several years ago a large tract of 
laud in the northeastern part of Bedford county and planted 11,000 grape vines ; 
they are in full bearing. He has established a wine cellar and is preparing to 
plant 50,000 additional grape vines. His success is so marked that other gentlemen 
are. preparing to follow his example. The grapes in the lowlands mature earlier 
than those in the highlands ; there is no part of the county unsuitable for grapes. 

"The county abounds with fine fruits — apples, peaches, pears, plums, cherries. 
Peaches have been growr^in the county measuring from ten to twelve inches in 
circumference ; the flavor is also excellent. 

"A great efi'ort is being made, with hopes of success, to construct a railroad from 
Big Island on Richmond and Alleghany railroad southward to Danville. Should 
that be done almost every farm would be within about six miles of a railroad. 

" There is one large fruit canning establishment in the county, conducted by Mr. 
Moomaw. 

" The woolen mills at Liberty are in successful operation. They are furnishing 
large quantities of cloth to distant purchasers, including Waunamaker of Phila- 
delphia. The purchases for the U. S. navy are extensive, and not long since the 
agent for the navy said it was the best cloth he had ever bought." 

The following minerals are found in the county : Cyanite, zinc, pyrotite mica- 
slate, pyrite, aluminous shales, hornblende gneiss, mica, limestone, magnetic iron 
ore, red and brown Iiematite iron ore. Of the latter the supply is very large. 
Major Hotchkiss pronounces it "inexhaustible." General Imboden pronounces 
it to be high grade, and practically inexhaustible. Prof. Wells, of Roanoke Col- 
iege, says it may be termed "The Iron Mountain of Virginia." 

The county is w*tered on its northeast boundary by the James and its tributa--- 
ries, by the Otter river and its headwaters in the central part of the county, and the 
Staunton and its tributaries on its southwestern border. The Blue Ridge forma 
its northwestern boundary between Botetourt and Roanoke. 



96 HAND-BOOK OP VIRGINIA. 

It has the Norfolk and Western railroad running through its centre, the Rich- 
mond and Alleghany railroad on its northeast border and the Virginia Midland run- 
ning in close proximity to its eastern border. 

This county is susceptible of great development ; it has received quite a large 
influx of nev»r settlers from England and elsewhere, and there is room for many- 
more. 

CULPEPER. 

Culpeper is not wholly a Piedmont county. The lower portion runs down into- 
Middle Virginia ; hence its surface is less rugged than that of some of the other 
Piedmont counties. 

Its area is 236,928 acres, assessed at $2,110,286 ; value of town lots, $249,578. 
Of this area thirty per cent, is woodland. Population, 13,408 — white, 6,785 ; 
colored, 6,623. 

Culpeper is watered by the Rappahannock and Rapidan rivers and their tribu- 
taries, which afford fine sites for mills, &c. 

The Virginia Midland railroad traverses the county from northeast to southwest. 
Culpeper, the county seat, is on this road. It is a town of 2,100 inhabitants, and 
enjoys a good trade with the surrounding country. It is one of the most thrifty- 
towns in the Sta'e. 

Stevensburg is a village near Brandy station. 

There are a number of factories in the county — a chair factory near Culpeper, 
plow-beam and barrel-stave factory near Stevensburg ; also factory for spools 
and shuttle blocks ; another for same near Cedar Run battle field. 

This county was the camping ground of both armies for much of the civil-war 
period, and was therefore denuded of much of its wood ; but so rapid has been 
the second growth that the destructive effects of the war are scarcely visible at 
this time. 

In "TAe Virginias,''^ of August, 1882, Major Hotchkiss says: "We would like 
to have some of the forest-wise people, who are croaking about the destruction of 
our forests, and predicting that we will have a treeless ^country in a short time, 
see how rapidly and beautifully Culpeper and other counties along the Virginia 
Midland, that were almost deforested during the late war by the great armies that 
camped and wintered there, are now becoming afforested in half a generation. 
We noticed a few days ago fuel and fencing being cut where Meade's army burned 
up every tree in 1863-4." 

"The large development of the secondary formation of the triassic period is an 
interesting feature in Culpeper county. 

"This formation extends in a northeast course from the Rapidan river to the 
Potomac, and in Culpeper county attains a breadth of ten or fiifteen miles. The 
indifferent soil, known locally as Black Jack lands, is within its bounds, but the 
decomposition of its red and chocolate colored shales furniphes lands of the best 
quality, easily improved and well adapted to grain, grass and tobacco. The lands 
underlaid with blue slates and shales are especially suited for wheat. 

" Trap dykes intersect this formation in many places, and furnith with the adja- 
cent indurated sandstones hard and durable building stone. 

" The formation i^ diversified by elevations of moderate height, probably formed 
■when the southwest range of mountains was upheaved. Several of these make 
most desirable locations for raising grapes and other fruits. The small Twin 
mountains near Rapidan station are noted for their ruggedness ; large columns of 
sandstone strata having been forced up from below, form an interesting and curl- 



HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 97 

ous spectacle, giving the geologist an excellent opportunity of studying the 
nature of the incumbent strata. 

"Another interesting and most valuable formation traverses this county from 
near Raccoon ford, on the Rapidan, towards Kelley's mill, on the Rappahannock. 
This is the narrow limestone belt which extends nearly through the State, passing 
from Culpeper through Orange, by way of Mountain run and Gordonsville ; 
through Albemarle to James river near Scottsville ; and thence to within five or 
six miles of Lynchburg, the James flowing along or over its measures for nearly 
forty mile* ; thence through the counties of Campbell, Pittsylvania, Franklin, 
etc., having in its entire course the same general characteristics, viz : a narrow 
limestone or marble formation, accompanied by iron and manganese ores and 
other minerals. The limestone, though somewhat mixed with silicious matters, 
makes excellent lime for agricultural purposes, and with lands on both sides need- 
ing most sadly its application, it is marvellous that so little use is made in Pied- 
mont Virginia of this most beneficent gift of nature. 

"The eruptive force elevating the Southwest Mountains gave rise to the elevations 
and broad rolling plateaus and hills, with rounded outline and long slopes on the 
west side of the triassic formation, and being underlaid, like the Southwest Moun- 
tain lands, with trap, greenstone and epidotic rocks, a red soil is formed, of excel- 
lent quality, with a good proportion of lime and potash, and capable of the high- 
est improvement. There is a large extent of these lands in Culpeper; they 
abound in picturesque views apd situatioup, and being entirely healthy and free 
from malaria, furnish most desirable locations for delightful homes." 

CULPEPER MINERALS AT THE NEW ORLEANS EXPOSITION. 

1. Gold-Bearing Quartz^ from "Culpeper" mine. Major C. Knapp. 

2. Gold-Bearing Quartz^ from Richardsville, W. B. Love. 

3. Gold-Bearing Quartz, from "Ellis" mine. 

4. Gold-Bearing Quartz, from Culpeper Gold-Mine, eighteen miles west from- 
Fredericksburg. 

From Virginia Midland Railway exhibit. 

6. Copper and Iron Ores, from Major E. B. Hill, one mile from Culpeper station., 
6. Iron Ore, from W. S. Wallace, seven miles from Brandy station. 

FAUQUIER 

was formed in 1759 from Prince William, Its length is forty-five miles ; mean 
breadth, sixteen miles. The surface is gently rolling and in some parts hilly. 
The hill lands have a strong soil ; the level lands are mainly gray sandstone. 

The lands are fertile, especially the noted greenstone (epidote) lands, which 
constitute the richest part of this productive county. Here the nutritious blue 
grass of Piedmont Virginia grows spontaneously, while cultivated grasses of 
every variety flourish luxuriantly, as do all the cereals, especially wheat and 
Indian corn ; and fine crops of corn, wheat, oats, rye and grass are produced. 
Fauquier is abundantly watered by the Rappahannock, Occoquan, and numerous 
creeks. The timber is oak, hickory, chestnut, walnut, poplar, locust, ash, cherry, 
cedar, sycamore, sassafras, elm, gum, mulberry, dogwood and pine. 

The population is 22,993— white, 13,688 ; colored, 9,305. Number ,:of acres of 
land 419,537, assessed at $7,122,953 ; value of town lots, $603,822. The produc- 
tions of this county furnish a large surplus for market. Fauquier is one of the health- 



D8 HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 

iest and most prosperous counties in the State. The Virginia Midland railroad, 
the main stem, the Manassas branch, and the Warrenton branch, penetrating tkis 
beautiful and fertile county in various directions, give it excellent market facilities. 

Fauquier has gold, iron ore, marble and asbestos. Mr. J. B. Beverly, Jr., and 
Mr. J. C. Little, in interesting letters, state that there are lound in the county 
iron ores in the form of specular, limonite, ilmenite, pyrites; also copper pyrites. 
Limestone, as marble, ^near the " Plains " station. This marble is very compact, 
close grained, gray and white. Also, barytes of excellent quality. There are 
several marble quarries ; and gold is also mined in the southern part of the county : 
it is in the form of sulphuret. 

The Rappahannock river forms its southern boundary and separates it from 
Culpeper and Rappahannock counties. This is a large and wealthy county, and 
has among its farmers some of the most successful and prosperous in the State. 
The cereals and grasses, with horses, sheep and cattle, constitute the main products. 
Cattle fattened upon the blue grass lands of Fauquier are in great request in the 
markets of Washington, Baltimore and the great cities further north, and have 
been largely shipped to Europe of late years. 

Warrenton is the chief town and county seat, and is the centre of a refined and 
intelligent community. It has a population of more than 1,500, and has numer- 
ous churches and schools. Near by is the Warrenton White Sulphur Springs, a 
popular resort for pleasure and health. 

Fauquier ranks high as regards quality of soil, beauty of scenery, healthfulness 
and general prosperity. In its borders are thirteen railroad stations, a number of 
which are flourishing towns or villages. , 

FAUQUIEB MINERALS AT THE NEW ORLEANS EXPOSITION. 

1. Iron Ore, from Henry Sempers. 

2. Syenite, rough block, from Alf. Chappelear. 

3. Feldspar or Kaolin, from Wm. E. Gaskins, two miles from Warrenton. 

4. Copper Ore, from "Sealock" mine. 

FRANKLIN 

was formed in 1784 from Henry and Bedford. It is 30 miles long and about 20 
miles wide. The Roanoke (there called " Staunton ") river runs on its northeast 
border, and the county is intersected by Pigg and Blackwater rivers and their 
numerous tributaries. The surface is rolling, as in the Piedmont counties generally. 
The soil is very fertile, and produces large crops of tobacco, corn, wheat, hay and 
oats. The population is— white, 17,069; colored, 8,015 ; total, 25,084. This is a 
very healthy county. Good land can be bought at $4 to ^10 per acre. (This esti- 
mate was made several years ago, before the railroad to Rocky Mount opened up 
the county to the markets of Danville, Lynchburg and other cities). Franklin 
contains 436,753 acres, assessed at $1,732 308; value of town lots, $71,400. 

This county, like the rest of Piedmont, is an excellent fruit region, particularly 
adapted to apples and grapes ; and it is also a good grass and stock-raising county. 
The minerals are iron, limestone, mica, asbestos, granite, and soapstone. The 
Franklin and Pittsylvania railway has been recently completed from Elba, near 
Ward's Springs,' in Pittsylvania county, on the Midland railroad, to Rocky Mount, 
the county seat, near the centre of the county. This relieves the farmers of 
Franklin of a long and costly cartage of their produce, and must greatly enhance 



HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 99 

the value of property. It has given a good impetus to the development of the 
valuable iron ores found here, as well as to that of the agricultural resources of 
this fertile county, 

FRANKLIN COUNTY MINERALS AT NEW ORLEANS EXPOSITION. 

1. Asbestos, from Captain F. J. Chapman. 

2. Magnetic Iron Ore, from Rocky Mount mines, F. J, Chapman. 

3. Magnetic Iron Ore, from Rocky Mount. 

4. Magnetite, from " Franklin " mine, H miles northwest from Rocky Mount. 

5. Magnetite, from Capt. C. J. Saunders' mine, eleven miles southwest from 
Rocky Mount. 

6. Granite, from W. C. Smithers' quarry, one mile northwest from Rocky 
Mount. 

GREENE 

lies northeast of Albemarle ; its northwest boundary, the crest of the Blue Ridge, 
which separates it from Rockingham, in the Shenandoah Valley. Its population 
in 1880 was— white, 4,005; colored, 1,825; total, 5,830, It contains 105,846 acres 
of land, assessed at $496,469; about 42 per cent, of this is woodland. 

Much of the surface is mountainous or semi-mountainous, but the less broken 
portions are fertile. It is watered by the Rapidan river and its tributaries, and 
the headwaters of the Rivanna river. 

Stock, especially sheep, are profitably raised in this county. 

Timber is abundant. The minerals found ar j copper and iron ore. Having no 
railroad for transportation of its products, these ores are not developed as they 
might be. The Virginia Midland railroad runs within a few miles of the eastern 
border of the county. 

Stanardsville is the county seat — a small village. With cheap lands and a 
healthful and pleasant climate, Greene county offers good inducements to settlers 
from other parts of the country. Good farms with improvements can now be 
bought for $15 per acre, and unimproved lands $1.50 to $8 per acre, but will rap- 
idly rise in price when penetrated by a railroad. Mountain lands are sold at ten 
cents to $2.50 per acre. 

HENRY 

was formed from Pittsylvania in 1776. It is nearly a square of 18 miles, and con- 
tains 239,003 acres, assessed at $1,119,445 ; value of town lots, $214,691. Popula- 
tion—white, 8,614; colored, 7,395; total, 16,009. 

The surface is undulating — in parts hilly, and there are eome considerable 
mountains. Smith's river flows through the middle of the county and " Mayo " 
through the southwest. These, with their numerous branches, afford ample water- 
power. 

The soil of Henry is very fertile and the climate salubrious. A correspondent 
well says : *' In this county we have comparatively warm winters and cool sum- 
mers ; and there is scarcely a county in the State freer from malaria than this. 
Perennial streams of fine freestone water are found in all parts." 

This is a fine grass county. Glover, blue grass, timothy, orchard, Randall, tall 
meadow oat grass, and red-top, all grow remarkably well here, as do all the 
cereals grown in Virginia. 



100 HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 

The tobacco of Henry is celebrated for its fine quality, and the production \g 
rapidly increasing. 

The g:rape is at home here, as are the apple, peach, nectarine, almond, (?) apri- 
cot and fig. 

"The calycanthus grows wild in the sheltered dales of this picturesque region." 

" Sweet potatoes do well here. Prom two to three hundred bushels can be 
raised per acre under good cultivation ; in fine, as our correspondent well says, 
" God has blessed this county with every advantage of fertile land and salubrious 
climate, and all that is necessary to succeed is to trust in God, speed the plow, 
use commendable economy, and cultivate the land in a manner commensurate 
with its great natural advantages." Labor is cheap— $75 to $100 per year, with 
board, «fec. 

Since the Danville and New River railroad was constructed through Henry the 
town of Martinsville, the county seat, has grown with phenomenal rapidity. 
Within five years it has increased from a population of three hundred to about 
three thousand at the present time. It is a live town, having ten tobacco facto- 
ries and nearly a half million of dollars invested in manufacturing enterprises of 
various sorts — as iron foundries, machine shops, &c. It has four large warehouses 
for the sale of leaf tobacco. 

Our correspondent adds : 

" The Danville and New River railroad is now extended to Patrick Court House, 
and Martinsville has gained about a thousand inhabitants in the last year or two. 
The county of Henry has as fine and as great a variety of timber trees as nearly 
any county in Virginia, with rich land, suited to all kinds of farming and plant- 
ing, or the raising of cattle or sheep. The county is improving, and is perhaps the 
finest tobacco county in America. Schools and churches in various parts of the 
coijQty; graded school at Martinsville." 

Iron ore in immense beds, mica, soapstone, chalybeate and alum water are 
found in Henry. 

HENBY COUNTY MINERALS AT NEW ORLEANS EXPOSITION. 

From Virginia Department Agriculture. 

1. Garnets, common. 

2. Quartz Crystals, & group ot. 

3. Garnets, in gneiss. . 

4. Magnetite, from A. N. Price, 
o. Tourmaline, from A. N. Price. 
6. Mica, sheets of. 

T. Quartz Crystals, peculiar group. 

The following were collected by E. D. Frazer. 

8. Hematite Iron Ore, from " Gravely " property, one mile west from Axton 
station, Danville and New River railroad. 

9. Magnetic Iron Ore, from "E. Davis " property, near same locality. 

10. Magnetic Iron Ore, from "Lucy Davis " property, near same locality. 

11. Magnetic Iron Ore, from "H. P. Davis" property, near same locality. 

12. Magnetic Iron Ore, from "McDonald" property, near same locality. 

13. Mineral, from '' Koger" property, one mile east from Bull Run, ten mile* 
west from Spencer station, Danville and New River railroad. 



HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 101 

14. Mineral, from same locality as above. 

15. Steatite, from "Gravely " quarry, two miles west from Axton station. 

16. Steatite, from "Barker" quarry, two miles east from Axton station. 

LOUDOUN 

was formed In 1757 from Fairfax. It is the northernmost of the Piedmont coun- 
ties ; separated from Maryland by the Potomac river, and by the Blue Kidge from 
Jejfferson county, West Virginia, and from Clarke county, Virginia ; Fauquier and 
Prince William adjoin it on the south and Fairfax on the east. 

Within these limits are included 323,013 acres of the finest land to be found in 
any one county in the State, and it is assessed accordingly at $8,934,644, which is 
considerably higher than any other county ; value of town lots, $641,050. Popu- 
lation—white, 16,391 ; colored, 7,243 ; total, 23,634, 

The surface of Loudoun is varied with mountains, gently sweeping hills and 
broad valleys, of which the greater part is exceedingly fertile, yielding immense 
crops of corn, wheat, hay and oats, and supporting great herds of fine cattle and 
flocks of sheep. Much attention has been paid to improving breeds of horses, 
cattle and sheep by the wealthy and intelligent farmers of Loudoun. 

The Washington, Ohio and Western railroad, which traverses this county, di- 
viding it almost equally, furnishes an outlet for the immense exports of cattle, 
grain and hay sent from the central portions of Loudoun, and the northern edge 
of the county is in easy communication with the Washington branch of the Bal- 
timore and Ohio railroad and the Chesapeake and Ohio canal, just across the 
Potomac. 

Leesburg, a fine old town, is the county seat. It has a population of about two 
thousand. 

A good deal of money from abroad has been invested here, but the high price 
of land has kept out much increase of population by immigration. 

The mineral wealth of this county is very considerable — iron, copper, silver, 
barytes and Marble — of which the following specimens were exhibited at the 
World's Exposition at New Orleans : 

1. Specular Iron Ore, from near Leesburg, said to be in quantity, from Prof. 
Fontaine. 

2. Chalcopyrite, from near Leesburg, said to be a promising vein, from Prof. 
Fontaine. 

The following were contributed by the Eagle Mining Company of Leesburg, 
F. A. Wise, general manager : 

1. Carbonate of Copper, from vein 3^ wide, developed to 25^ deep. Assays by 
Oxford Copper Company, of New York, give 51 per cent, of copper and 27 
ounces of silver per ton. 

2. Sulphuret of Copper, from vein lO^"* wide, developed to 50^ deep. Assays by 
Oxford Copper Company of New York give 12J per cent, of copper. 

3. Irom, Ore, from vein 4^ wide and 50^ deep. Yields 55 per cent, metalic iron 
by assay of W. P. Lawver of U. S. Mint. ^ 

4. Sulphuret of Copper, from vein developed 50\ Yields 11 per cent, of copper 
and one ounce of silver per ton by assay of W. P. Lawver, of U. S. Mint. 

5. Carbonate of Copper, red oxide and glance, from vein 3^ wide, developed to 
25^ deep. ^Yields 50 per cent, metalic copper and 27 ounces silver per ton by assays. 



102 HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 

6. Iron Ore, from vein 2^ to 4"^ wide, developed 50^. Yields 55 percent, metalie 
iron. 

7. Oxide of Qopper^ from carbonate vein, developed 60^ on 4^ wide vein ; 25^ 
deep. 

8. Sulphuret of Copper^ from vein 8^"^ to 15^^ wide, developed 50\ 

9. Iron Ore. 

10. Barytea, heavy spar, vein undeveloped. 

11. Iron Ore, from 50^ level of Eagle Mining Company's shaft. 

12. Marble, from quarry of " Virginia Marble Company," three miles east from 
Middleburg. The deposit has been demonstrated to be of great extent ; the mar- 
ble has been pronounced of a very superior quality. Contributed by Major B. P. 
Noland. 

13. Marble, from same as above. 

14. Marble, from same as above. 

17. Copper Ore, James Pinkham, from Virginia Department of Agriculture. 

MADISOlSr 

was formed in 1792 from Culpeper. It is about thirty-three miles long, and con- 
tains 266,343 acres of land, assessed at $1,622,442 ; value of town lots, $47,905. 
Population — white, 6,006 ; colored, 5,556 ; total, 11,562. 

This is an excellent grass and grain producing county, besides being admira- 
bly adapted to fruit and grape culture, and fine tobacco, and containing valuable 
mineral deposits, as will be seen from the following geological and general sketch 
of the county — a description so good that it is given unabridged : 

" The nature of soils is largely controlled by geological formations, and this is 
well shown in Madison county. 

"An arm of the large secondary formation of the triassic period, which extends 
from the Rapidan river through Culpeper county and other counties to the Poto- 
mac river, extends across the southeastern part of the county, crossing the 
Robertson river above its mouth, and having a width of one or two miles, where 
the formation is a red or chocolate-oolored shale, the super-imposed soil is of ex- 
cellent quality, producing fine crops of wheat, corn and grass. Where gray 
sandstone predominates the soil is of medium fertility, but easily improved. 

" It has been recently stated by high authority that soils of similar secondary 
measures in other parts of Virginia have been found eminently adapted to the 
growth of high grade tobacco. 

" Between this secondary deposit and the Rapidan river the underlying rocks 
for twelve or more miles are mostly epidote and greenstone, similar to those of 
the adjacent Southwest Mountain range of Orange county, the decomposition of 
which furnish potash and lime. The Madison lands adjacent to Orange county 
appear to be of better quality, owing to some admixture of sand from the adja- 
cent sandstone belt, and furnish in many places soils remarkably well adapted to 
the culture of grapes, and particularly of the valuable Catawba grape, which it 
is diflScult to raise in many sections. 

" The portion of the county lying between the secondary deposits and the 
region adjacent to the foot-hills of the Blue Ridge mountains is underlaid with 
gneissoid sandstone, decomposing granites and metamorphic strata, all azoic, and 
furnishing in disintegration but little lime and potash or other mineral ingredient 
of value ; and the soil, excepting upon the streams, is of medium quality, gray or 
red color, but readily improved. Adjacent to the foot-hills of the Blue Ridge the 



HAND-BOOK OF VIKGINIA. 105 

country rocks show marks of the metamorphic or igneous action accompanying 
the elevation of the Blue Ridge, and produce fertile soils. The slopes of the 
mountains grow excellent tobacco, potatoes and rye. The Blue Ridge extends 
along the entire northwest border of the county, throwing out long spurs, some 
of which nearly attain the height of the parent Ridge — whose highest point iu 
the county is 3,860 feet above sea level. Other points reach 3,600 and 3,400 feet. 
Average elevation of the Blue Ridge about 3,000 feet. Its top and more elevated 
slopes furnish excellent grazing when cleared, where cattle thrive well, owing to 
lower temperature and freedom from annoyance from insects. 

" The lower parts of the mountains and the numerous and beautiful valleys 
and glens are eminently adapted to the growth of grapes, apples and other fruits, 
where the elevation exceeds 500 feet above sea, and does not exceed 1,500 feet, 
for in this range of elevation are places where dew and frost are not often seen, 
and late frost rarely ever injures fruit. No section of Virginia is better adapted 
to the growth of pippins and other valuable apples. 

" The value of lands along the eastern slope of the Blue Ridge, not exceeding 
1,500 feet elevation, for fruit raising, does not seem to be properly appreciated 
when we consider that from absence of late frosts in many places, there is almost 
uniform success, with proper attention. 

" Upon the rivers and creeks in the county are numerous bodies of very rich 
lands — the largest of these is on the Robertson river near Madison Courthouse, 
where there are about 1,400 acres in one bottom, mostly very fertile — evidently 
once the bottom of a lake. 

MINERALS. 

"A large vein of impure graphite crosses the eastern part of the county from 
the late George W. Clark's farm to the Bond farm on the Rapidan, northwest of 
Liberty Mills. It makes an excellent fire-proof paint, and very durable crucibles. 
A vein of yellow ochre accompanies it. Near it runs a large ledge of coarse 
steatite, which makes hearths and fire-places capable of resisting injury from 
heat. Occasionally bodies of hematite iron ore are developed along the line of 
these minerals. North of this, gneissoid sandstone furnishes excellent buUding 
stone. 

" On the head waters of the Rapidan and Robertson rivers are large seams of 
magnetic and specular iron ores. Sulphurets of copper are found in very small 
quantities. The seams of red oxide and native copper appear to be large at some 
points. They are associated with epidote quartz and greenstone. One vein on 
Stony Man mountain, worked many years ago, has an apparent width of 15 feet, 
ores averaging six or seven per cent, of metal. On the Hawksbill mountain a 
seam, which has not been explored, can be traced by outcrop of the ledge for 
over half a mile. These ores (if native copper can be called an ore) are found in 
several other localities, and with the Shenandoah Valley railroad (now built a few 
miles to the west of the Blue Ridge) furnishing convenient transportation, it is 
hoped that capitalists will soon develop these mineral deposits, one of which Silli- 
man, Shepherd and other noted mineralogists have declared to have great value. 

" The extreme range of the thermometer during the past twenty-five years is 
from 16 degrees below zero in winter up to 97 degrees in the shade in summer. 
More generally there is merely sufficient cold weather to furnish ice, and the 
summers are pleasant, with a bracing air. Malarial diseases are rarely ever seen. 
All the conditions favorable to longevity prevail. 

" The mean temperature of springs taken in June in the southeastern part of 



104 HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 

the county is 58J° Fahrenheit, and probably the average of the county would be 
67^" — the springs near the mountains being colder. As the temperature ol 
springs about corresponds with the yearly mean temperature, we may safely put 
the average for the county at 58°, which is the mean for Marseilles in France, and 
Madrid in Spain, and also that of North Carolina." 

The Virginia Midland railroad passes near the eastern border of the county, 
and the Chesapeake and Ohio near the southern line, and the Shenandoah Valley, 
AS stated, is near the western border of the county. 

MADISON COUNTY MINERALS AT NEW OBLSANS BrPOBITION. 

From Professor Fontaine. 

1. Mica Schist, from near Madison Courthouse; in large quantities — a good 
building stone. 

2. Diorite. Occurs in heavy masses with the next. 

3. Diorite, from an immense dyke, seemingly 1,000 feet wide, in «ast foot of 
Blue Ridge on Milan Gap road. 

4. Metamorphic Diorite, from ledge two and a half miles west from Courthouse, 
on Milan Gap road. 

5. Variety of Syenite, that occurs with Unakite at Milan Gap of Blue Ridge. 

6. Variety of Syenite, that occurs with Unakite at Milan Gap of Blue Ridge. 

7. Unakite, occurs in Syenite on top of Blue Ridge at Milan Gap. 

8. Unakite, same place as above. 

9. Magnetic Iron Ore, from F. H. Hill, C. H., from Virginia Department of 
Agriculture. 

NELSON 

county extends from James river on the southeast to the summit of the Blue 
Ridge on the northwest, and lies between Amherst and Albemarle counties on 
the southwest and northeast. Area, 294,134 acres, assessed at $1,858,269 ; value 
of town lots, $37,951. Population— white, 9,028; colored. 7,508; total, 16,536. 

The surface of the county is rolling, and is crossed by numerous small rivers, 
creeks and branches. Fresh water is everywhere abundant. The water is mostly 
freestone, but iron and sulphur water is found in various parts, especially in the 
uplands along James river. Two railroads intersect the county, the Richmond 
and Alleghany and Virginia Midland, and the Chesapeake and Ohio touches one 
end of the county. 

Lovingston, a village of 300 inhabitants, four miles from the Virginia Midland 
railroad, is the county seat, and is the largest place in the county. It is 145 miles 
from Washington. 

The soil of Nelson is exceedingly fertile where it has not been too much im- 
poverished by over-cultivation, and even these lands are capable of high improve- 
ment at slight expense. The soil is especially suited to the growth of fine and 
heavy tobacco, corn, wheat, oats, grasses (clover and timothy mostly). Cattle and 
Bheep raising is receiving considerable attention, and pays well. And the same 
may be said of all kinds of fruits and garden vegetables that are found in this 
latitude anywhere in the world. 

Grapes flourish in this county to perfection, and in the last few years great at- 
tention has been paid both by natives and foreigners to the cultivation of grapes 
And winter-keeping apples, and the results have been most gratifying. 

About one-half of this county is In the original growth, which consists of white 



HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 105 

oak, pine (white and yellow), Spanish oak, black oak, red oak, hickory, walnut, 
chestnut, etc., in great abundance, and also other rarer trees, such as ash, gum, 
sycamore, cherry, locust, in small quantities. 

The county is well watered, haviug the James washing its whole southern 
border, besides the Tye, Rockfish and their tributaries. These, with the James, 
along which are numerous solid masonry dams, formerly used by the old canal 
company, afford aa extraordinary amount of water-power, some of the sites 
possessing advantages equal to any in the State. The minerals of the county are 
manganese, largely mined at Midway Mills and Warminster (from time to time), 
rutile, copper (green and blue carbonates), garnet, ochre, kaolin (in immense beds), 
iron, hematite, specular and magnetic. The Greenway mines have been largely 
worked and the ore analyzed 65.14 metallic iron, 0.029 phosphorus. Hematite at 
"Sleepy Hollow Mines" analyzed 53 per cent, metallic iron. A copper mine is 
being worked near Norwood on the Richmond and Alleghany railroad and is said 
to be yielding well. These metallic resources are destined to large developments 
under more favorable auspices than now exist. 

The county is penetrated by the Virginia Midland railroad running through its 
whole width, and the Richmond and Alleghany railroad skirts its entire river 
border. The Chesapeake and Ohio railway touches the northern corner. 

This county offers a fine field for new settlers and investnient of capital. The 
Richmond and Alleghany railroad company offers special inducements to those 
who buy and settle along its line. 

NELSON COUNTY MINERALS AT THE NEW ORLEANS EXPOSITION. 

1. Manganese^ from Cabell mine, near Warminster, R. & A. R. R. 

2. Limonite, brown iron ore, from Sleepy Hollow mine, two miles from Nor- 
wood, R & A. R. R. 

3. Trap-rock, from dyke, one mile above Norwood. 

4. Mica-Schist, from Combined Lock station, R. & A. R. R. 

5. Quartz and Feldspar^ from same locality as above. 

6. Magnetite, magnetic and specular iron ore, from mine near Grreenway ; a 
steel ore that has been shipped to Pittsburg. 

7. Tufaceous Quartz, from Greenway. 

8. Magnetite, magnetic and specular iron ore, Mundy'smine, near Allen's creek, 
R. & A. R. R. 

9. Specular Iron Ore, from Wheatland mine, near Riverville, R. & A. R. R. 

From Prof. Fontaine, 

10. Magnetic Iron Ore, from Moores, near Faber station, Va. Mid. R. R. 

11. Manganese Oxide, from Simpson's mine, Midway Falls. 

12. Hornblende and Garnet, in quartzose rock, near Faber Mills. 

13. Rutile, occurs in gneiss, often in large masses. 

14. Kaolin, from Dr. J. H. Shelton, from Virginia Department of Agriculture. 

15. Ochrous Clay, from James Miller. 

16. Copper Ore, green and blue carbonate, Ac, from Rawlings and Armentrout, 
Staunton. 

From the Virginia Midland Railway exhibit. 

1. Iron Ore, from near Faber station. 

2. Kaolin, from eight miles from Arrington station. 

7 



106 HAND-BOOK OP VIRGINIA. 



OKANGE 

was formed in 1734 from Spotsylvania. Its greatest length is thirty-eight miles; 
the width varies from five to fourteen miles. 

Population— white, 6,210 ; colored, 6,842 ; total, 13,052. Area, 213,805 acres, 
valued at $1,737,804; value of town lots, $223,054. 

It is abundantly watered by the Rapidan and North Anna rivers and their trib- 
utaries. 

The surface in the eastern part is beautifully undulating ; the central and west- 
ern portions have hills and mountains of gentle elevation, covered to their tops 
with forests of valuable timber, and farms of unsurpassed beauty and productive- 
ness. 

The soil is mostly a dark red clay formed from ferruginous and calcareous rocks, 
and is very fertile, producing large crops of grain and grass, and some tobacco. 
As a grass-growing and grazing county, this should yield precedence to no other. 

The rearing of thoroughbred stock is extensively carried on by careful and in- 
telligent farmers. 

The average assessed value of land in this county is $10.70 per acre, but the im- 
proved farms command prices several times greater than that. 

The railway facilities are excellent, and are furnished by the Chesapeake and 
Ohio, Va. Midland, and Orange and Fredericksburg railroads, which are located 
in such a manner that all parts of the county are convenient to one or another of 
them. 

Gordonsville, near where this county corners with Louisa and Albemarle, at the 
juncture of the Chesapeake and Ohio and one branch of the Va. Midland road, is 
the largest town. Orange, the county seat, is a small town on the Va. Midland, 
at the point of junction of the Fredericksburg Narrow-Gauge road. 

The timber consists of large growths of the various kinds of oak, of hickory, 
pine, chestnut, poplar and sycamore. 

Iron ores, red and brown hematite and magnetic are abundant and rich. 
Limestone, some of it hydraulic, and marble are found at the base of the South- 
west mountains. Gold-bearing quartz, asbestos and flre-clay are found in Orange. 

Our correspondent adds : 

"Orange county, one of the central districts of Piedmont Virginia, embraces all 
of the advantages conceded to that favored section, viz.: great diversity of agri- 
cultural production, abundant pure spring water, embracing numerous chalybeate 
springs, freedom from malaria, pure mountain air and ready access to the best 
markets. The Southwest mountain range traversing the entire length of the 
county, defining the line between the red and gray lands and forming the water 
shed to the Rapidan on the northwest and the North Anna river on the south, 
gives the elevation which, with the deep soil and natural drainage, renders this 
section, embracing more than half the area of the county, peculiarly adapted to 
the o"rowth of grapes, apples, cherries and all standard varieties of fruit, and as 
grazing lands, especially for sheep, second to none outside of the blue-grass region. 
As evidence of the adaptation of this section to general stock raising, statistics show 
more pure-bred stock, embracing representatives of nearly all tlie leading breeds 
of cattle, sheep and hogs, exhibited at the Virginia State fair from this county 
than from any other in the State. The average production per acre^of the staple 
crops is of wheat, 15 bushels ; oats, 20 bushels ; corn, 30 bushels ; tobacco, 800 
pounds. Colored labor is abundant at $100 to $120 by the year, with board, house 
and garden and firewood ; or 50 cents per day, with board, for first-class men. 



HAND-BOOK OP VIRGINIA. 107 

" The general system of farming is progressive, and the adoption of the ' diver- 
sity of production ' is meeting with general favor. The raising of small fruits 
for the Northern markets is a rapidly increasing and profitable industry. 30,000 
pounds table grapes were shipped this season from one express office, notwith- 
standing the unprecedented bad season. The public schools, supplemented by 
numerous private schools, afford abundant educational facilities. Land can be 
bought at from $10 to $40 per acre and settlers are cordially welcomed." 

OBANQB COUNTY MINERATfi AT THE NEW ORLEANS KXPOSTTION. 

From Collection of the Va. Midland Railway. 

1. Iron Ore, from Madison station, from W. P. Hicks. 

2. Iron Ore, from same locality, from Eeid & Wallace, 

3. Terra Cotta Clay, from same locality, from Keid & Wallace. 

4. Yellow Ochre, iron paint, from same locality, from Reid & Wallace. 

5. Iron Ore, from "Falkner" land, one mile from Madison station, from Glass 
Jb Co, 

6. Iron Ore, from " Taylor " Mine, near courthouse, from Ben. Rawlings. 

From the Virginia Department of Agriculture. 

1. Bed Iron Ore, micaceous, from J. C. Harrison, Barboursville. 

2. Bed Iron Ore, from H. C. Baker. 

3. Brown Iron Ore, from Erasmus Taylor. 

4. Slate, from Erasmus Taylor. 

PATRICK. 

This is the extreme southwestern county of the Piedmont section. It borders 
on the North Carolina line. Until very recently it was cut off from the world, 
having no means of communication, except the ordinary dirt road. Its area is 
378,169 acres, assessed at $938,101 ; value of town lots, $53,560. This low price is 
due to the cause above alluded to and to the fact that 63 per cent, of the land is 
woodland. Large tracts have never been settled up. 

Population— white, 10,099 ; colored, 2,734 ; total, 12,833. 

The lands are watered by the Dan, and Smith's river, a large tributary to the 
Dan, and other streams. A part of this county is hilly or semi-mountainous, but 
there is a large plateau, called " The Meadows of Dan," which is well adapted to 
grass. 

A correspondent from this county writes as follows : 

" Some, and, in fact, most of the lands of this county produce fine crops of corn, 
wheat, rye, oats, potatoes (Irish and sweet), tobacco, and grass making a superior hay. 
We now have in this county considerable tracts of land in primitive forest, which 
is for sale, and would bring as fine tobacco and wheat as ever grew anywhere. 
Fruits grow and mature finely here. We have very fine apples, in endless variety, 
ripening from June to November. Now, while I write, August 24th, I hold in 
my left hand a sound apple, grown in 1885, and kept in open air through winter, 
spring and summer. Peaches do well, all that is needed being to destroy the 
worm which bores in the roots and kills the trees at three or four years old. Cherries 
are very fine. Grapes grow luxuriantly in almost all parts of the county ; the 
native grape, without any attention, grows abundantly, and almost any of the 



108 HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 

improved grapes, when cultivated, do remarkably well. I have tried the Delaware, 
Isabella, Catawba, Norton's Virginia, and have seen several other kinds growing 
and bearing luxuriantly and abundantly. 

" Much of our land is fertile and brings fine corn, some as high as fifty bushels 
to the acre. Buckwheat grows and yields abundantly. As to vegetables, we have 
them in almost perfection — turnips, cabbages, onions, parsnips, carrots, squashes, 
etc." 

The timber of this county is very abundant and of fine quality. The county is 
also famous for apples and the abundance of small fruits which grow wild. 

The minerals are iron — of the finest quality — lead and silver. During the war 
this iron was worked by the Confederate government. 

Very recently the Danville and New River railroad has been completed 
to Stuart, the county seat. This is the only village of note in the county. 

This county offers the greatest inducements to settlers on account of cheap 
lands and probable rapid growth. Large bodies of land can be bought at low 
figures. 

PATRICK COUNTY MINERALS AT THE NEW ORLEANS EXPOSITION. 

From Virginia Department of Agriculture. 

1. Hornblende. 

2. Magnetic Iron Ore, from Judge Lybrook. 

3. Copper Ore, low grade. 

4. Steatite. 
6. JUica. 

6. Limonite. 

The following were collected by Mr. E. D. Frazer. 

7. Magnetic^ from "Floyd" mine. 

8. Hematite, from " Moris" mine. 

9. Hematite, from "Nowlin" mine. 

10. Magnetite, from Barksdale furnace property. 

11. Magnetite, from same locality. 

12. Magnetite, from "Hairston" mines. 

13. Magnetite, from "Forley" mines. 

RAPPAHANNOCK. 

This county lies on the Upper Rappahannock river, which divides it from 
Fauquier county. Its surface is high and hilly, but is fine grazing land. Its area 
is 150,265 acres, of which thirty-one per cent, is woodland, assessed at $1,687,527 ; 
value of town lots, $75,365; a high average, considering that no railroad or 
navigable waterway is found in the county. 

Populiition— white, 5,755 ; colored, 3,636 ; total, 9,291. 

It is well watered by the Rappahannock river and its tributaries. 

Washington, the county seat, is near the centre of the county. Besides this 
there are the considerable villages of Flint Hill, Woodville, Sperryville and Amiss- 
ville. At the latter place there is a large tannery. Many fine cattle and horses 
are carried to market from this county. 

Efforts have been made to construct a railroad into this county hy a branch 



HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 109 

road from the Virginia Midland at Warrenton or Culpeper, which will doubtless 
be done before long. 

Although off the railroad, this fine county offers great inducements to settlers 
in its fine lands, salubrious climate and beautiful scenery, and the grazier is 
practically not far from the great markets of the country. The Shenandoah 
Valley railroad runs within five miles of the western border, through the fine 
counties of Page and Warren, and affords transportation to a considerable portion 
of the products of this county. 



110 HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA, 



SHENANDOAH VALLEY. 



THE VALLEY 

is a portioa of the grf at Central Appalachian Valley that extends for hiinclreds 
of miles, from Canada to Alabama — a broad belt of rolling country, enclosed be- 
tween lofty mountain ranges, diversified by hills and valleys, with many winding 
streams of water — the Blue Ridge on the east and the Kittatinny or Endless 
mountains on the west. This is a region of limestone roclj, shales, slates and 
clays. 

The lowest point of the Shenandoah Valley la at Harpers Ferry, in (now) West 
Virginia. The lowest or most northern county in Virginia is Frederick, the highest 
is Augusta, respectively 242 and 1,863 feet above tidewater. The length of the 
Shenandoah Valley in Virginia is 136 miles. 

In this space are seven counties. The lowest is Frederick, then Clarke, Shenan- 
doah, Warren, Page, Rockingham and Augusta. In the latter county are the- 
head springs of the Shenandoah river. 

A large portion of the Valley was settled by Pennsylvania Germans in the early 
history of the State. These people brought with them their frugal habits, their 
conservative systems and modes of farm management, which served to keep it 
what nature made It to be— one of the most desurable tracts of country in the 
United States. 

The Valley is the region of cambrian and lower Silurian rocks — Formations, I, 
II and III of Rogers, or from Potsdam to Hudson river formations of New York 
inclusive — a country mainly of limestone, slate and shale rock, with a fertile soil 
and undulating surface. The section across the Valley through Staunton gives 
some thirty alternating bands of slates and limestones of various kinds, some 
magnesian, others silicious or rich carbonates ; some compact, others flaggy or 
slaty, «fec. Among these are beds of chert, iron ore, umber, &c. This formation 
extends northward, and forms the rich Cumberland, Lebanon and other Valleys 
of Maryland, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, the Hudson and Mohawk Valleys of 
New York, and the Champlain Valley of Vermont. Southwest it becomes the 
Valley of East Tennessee, and extends into Alabama, making a grand Central 
Valley, some 1,500 miles in length, of unsurpassed fertility and productiveness. 
This formation underlies a large portion of Scotland, especially the southern and 
central parts; much of the area of Wales, and large districts in the west, south- 
west and northwest of England. The most fertile portions of New York, Ohio, 
Indiana, Kentucky, Wisconsin and Missouri are also underlaid by this rock. 

To the Division we are describing will, politically, belong parts of the Upper 
Silurian and Devonian systems, that are more specially referred to in the account 
of the Appalachian country. These form long ridges that rise up and run for 



HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. Ill 

great distances in the Valley, like the Massanutten and other mountain ranges 
that divide the great Valley lengthways into two parallel valleys. The rocks 
of the Valley generally dip both ways, to the southeast and to the northwest, 
making an anticlinal. The upturned edge of the rocks strikes or runs north- 
east and southwest with the Valley. Fragments of the sub-carboniferous forma- 
tion are found along the western margin of the Valley, sometimes containing beds 
of semi-anthracite coal. 

MINERALS. 

Iron ore, brown hematites, are found in "pockets " in all portions of the Valley. 
These supply large quantities of fine ores. Umber exists in many places. 
Ochre is worked successfully in Page county. In the mountain ranges that rise 
up in the Valley are very extensive beds of several varieties of iron ores. The 
Valley limestone makes an excellent fiux for iron. The large deposits of purt 
kaolin in Augusta county, have been used in the manufacture of "stone china'* 
and "Eockingham " wares, and is now made into pipes, tiles, &c. 

SOILS. 

Th« soils of the Valley are quite numerous ; they are generally called limestone 
soils, as this is a limestone region. The prevailing soil is a stifif, clayey loam — a 
durable and fertile soil, well adapted to the growth of grass and grain. In the 
slaty belts the admixture of the decomposed aluminous rocks makes a lighter and 
warmer soil. There are also belts of sandy or gravelly soil that are cold and 
require cultivation and fertilizmg to make them productive, but once redeemed 
they yield very well. Much of the larger portion of the Valley has naturally a 
good soil, rich in the elements of fertility. The soil, like the rock, runs in belts 
with the Valley, and the lean ones are the smaller number. The streams, as in 
all limestone regions, are winding, so there is here a considerable area of bottom 
lands. Washington said of this section that " in soil, climate and productions, in 
my opinion, it will be consMered, if not considered so already, as the Garden of 
America." 

Here we find the natural blue-grass lands, the home of the stock-raiser and 
dairy-man ; the heavy clay lands., fat in fertilizing ingredients, always repaying; 
the labor spent on them in crops of corn or other grain ; the light slaty lands, 
famous for wheat crops ; the poorer ridge lands, where sheep rearing should be 
followed . 

TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES. 

The Valley is well supplied with railway facilities — every county having one or 
more railroads. 

1st. The Valley Branch of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad from Harper's Ferry 
(West Va.) traverses the whole length of Frederick, passing by Winchester, its 
chief town, then traverses Shenandoah county, forming a junction at Strasburg 
with the Manassas branch of the Virginia Midland railroad, then through Rock- 
ingham to Staunton, in Augusta, where it crosses the line of the Chesapeake and 
Ohio railway running east and west, thence through Augusta to Lexington, in 
Rockbridge county, its present terminus. 

Parallel with this line the Shenandoah Valley railroad, from Hagerstown, 
Maryland, runs throughout the whole Valley, striking Clarke county near Berry- 
ville, thence through Clarke and Warren. At Riverton it intersects the Manassas 



112 HAND-BOOK OP VIRGINIA. 

branch of the Virginia Midland railway ; thence throusjh Page, Rockingham and 
Augusta counties. In the latter it intersects the Chesapeake and « Jhio railway at 
Waynesboro. 

The latter railway traverses Augusta county from east to west, striking Staun- 
ton, its county seat and the largest city of the Valley. 

It will thus appear that few sections have superior facilities for transportation 
of persons and property than this Valley. 

CITIES AND TOWNS. 

Staunton, Winchester, Harrisonburg, Woodstock and Berryville are the chief 
cities and towns in this part of the Valley. These will be described more particu- 
larly under the head of the counties in which they lie. 

THE "valley" counties, SOUTH OF AUGUSTA 

The economic as well as the scientific geology of the counties of " The Valley" 
here treated presents remarkable general similarity in the order of arrangement 
throughout ; but the departures from absolute uniformity are, in some localities, 
quite considerable. 

This series of unusually rich agricultural and mineral counties : Botetourt, 
Roanoke, Montgomery, Pulaski, Wythe, Smyth and Washington, with a small 
triangular piece of Scott county, extend from north of James river to the Tennes- 
see State line. It is bounded southeast by the archnean and priaiordial rocks of the 
Blue Ridge and the more westerly limb of its bifurcation ; and on the northwest 
side are the Upper Silurian and Devonian rocks of the great North mountains, 
trending generally northeast and southwest, under such names as Gap and 
Walker's mountains, and for a part of the way the boundary is Clinch mountain, 
with the same formations. 

The main central portion of the Valley is composed of Cambrian and Lower 
Silurian limestones, calcareous and ferriferous shales, &c., to the decomposition 
of which, tn situ, "The Valley" not only owes its great fertility as a grass and 
grain producing region, but some of its valuable beds of ii'on ores are thought to 
be thus derived. Then, this central limestone belt is fl vnked on the northwest by 
a not inconsiderable, and sometimes quite valuable, band of the earliest coal rocks, 
yielding here and there excellent semi-bituminous and semi-anthracite coals, in 
beds varying between 2 J and 20 feet in thickness — all in "The Valley." The 
grass that naturally coats the soils, when the timber is removed, is the famous 
"Kentucky Blue-Grass " (poapratensis) ; and when the land gets down somewhat, 
from bad cultivation, this is often replaced by another species of blue-grass {poa- 
compressa), more truly blue in appearance than the more valuable kind lirst men- 
tioned. 

The different sub-divisions of geological formations are found in these counties 
to read in faulted sections ; beginning on the southeast in the later sub-epochs of 
the archroan age, and pursuing the reading northwest, over a great fault on the 
northern or northwestern side of the Valley, through a down throw of proto-car- 
boniferous rocks, to the Devonian and Upper Siluiian of the great North moun- 
tains—in such order and with such modifications as may be shown later on. 

Those thrusts of pressure, evidently projected from southeast toward northwest, 
•whiiih were exerted in folding and faulting the earth's surface throughout this 
region, so acted upon the Blue Ridge as to elevate that range, not only much 
higher at one time than it now is, but really overturned, some degrees beyond tlie 



HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 113 

perpendicular, much of its stratification ; so that we often si?e the Huronian rocks, 
which theoretically belong nearer the heart or toward the south slope of the 
mountain, pressed over, with their valuable gold, tin, silver, copper, magnetic and 
specular iron ores, to the " Valley" side of the mountain. Thus, in the southeast 
of Botetourt tin ores may yet be found, as they are now reported to have been 
discovered on Bent mountain, in Montgomery, and on the southwest side of Roanoke 
county. In Montgomery county, on Brush creek, gold has not only been found 
in that arm of the Blue Ridge, or Pilot mountain, but companies are now prepar- 
ing to erect works for its reduction from the quartz to which it has been traced. 
The gold-bearing rocks must have been there identified as being of greater thick- 
ness and persistency than was at first believed possible. Tljis is also true of the 
region of Little River, somewhat farther southwest. It would not be surprising 
to hear of the discovery of tin and gold both in the southern sides of Pulaski, 
Wythe, Smyth and Washington. These valuable Huronian strata, which also 
yield much valuable red iron ore, are succeeded, n«xt nortiiwardly, by the Pots- 
dam or Primordial rocks, which show the first positively ascertained evidences of 
organic life, in fossil remains of the Scolithus Linearis and certain SLXiciaut fucoida. 
lu these rocks, which extend generally along the northern base of the Blue Ridge, 
in its straight continuations, are found, besides excellent glass sand, three or 
more of the most massive, persistent and valuable iron ore deposits ever found in 
Virginia. The ore is usually a Liroonite, often laro-ely mixed with specular ore 
and oxide of manganese, and found in quite accessiwe bodies, measuring from 20 
feet to 150 feet and more in thickness, between their enclosing walls. From 
numerous openings on this line of deposits, iti these counties, the ores have been 
largely mined and converted into iron at various furnaces. From both sides of 
the anticlinal ridge of Potsdam rocks in Botetourt county, lying between the 
Norfolk and Western and Shenandoali Valley railways, a large tonnage is 
annually removed from the Houston, Munford and other mines, and reduced in 
the Crozet furnace at Roanoke city. 

These vast lines of Potsdam ores make large exhibits on the southern side of 
Eoanoke county; in Montgomery county, on Bent mountain, Pilot mountain, 
Little river, &c. ; in Pulaski county, on Laurel creek, at Radford furnace, Calfee's, 
on New river, and at other places ; in Wythe county, on the side of Poplar Camp 
mountain, on Francis Mill creek, where one deposit is over 100 feet between 
walls, and at numerous other places in Iron mountain, besides being found largely 
developed on both sides of Lick mountain, an anticlinal of Potsdam rocks in the 
centre of the county; in Smyth county, at Alexander, Neitch and Kowlands on 
spurs of Iron mountain, where it sometimes develops as a red iron ore of high 
grade, at Grose's and other places in Iron mountain, besides many extensive and 
valuable deposits in White Rock and Glade mountains in the middle of the county ; 
in Washington county, on spurs of Iron and Holston mountains in extensive de- 
posits, sometimes accompanied with red hematite. 

From numerous openings in all the places mentioned. Prof. A. S. McCreath, 
chemist, and others have carefully selected and analyzed samples, from which it 
is inferred that the metallic iron in these Potsdam ores varies from 50 to 56 per 
cent. ; silica, 3 to 10 per cent., and phosphorus, 0.138 and higher. 

Dr. Frcehling, chemist, of Richmond, in those of Lick mountain, finds in seven 
famples an average of metallic iron, 52.210 ; metallic manganese, 1.491 ; phos- 
phorus, 0.216 ; some phosphorus assays being as low as 0.039, the highest being 
0.508 per cent. Much of the red iron ore found in the Potsdam rocks averages 56 
per cent, metallic iron and 0.010 phosphorus, particularly that in Smyth county. 



114 HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 

The manganese ore so far reported as accompanying these iron ore deposits la in 
veins or deposits of two to eight feet thickness, and much of it is of the standard 
percentage required by commerce. It has been discovered in every county where 
Potsdam roclis are found. 

This great band of Potsdam or primordial roclvs presenting its sometimes 
folded outcrop generally to view, on the western lower flank of the Blue Ridge, 
is the great floor or bed rock — the corner-stone, so to speak, of the great paleozoic 
series. Not far above it, in the order of natural superposition, is that equally 
valuable band of dolomitic limestones, some ledges of which yield the excellent 
cement of James river, and farther southwest, tlie extraordinary deposits of lead 
and zinc ores, the floor and roof of which are composed of the famous bands of 
brown iron ores of the Newriver—Oripple creek— basin, &o much sought utter ior 
car wheel purposes. While all the Valley counties may, after exhaustive research, 
reveal the presence of these zinc and lead ores of No. II, it is noc until you reach 
Roanoke county that any appreciable thickness of them has been so far reported. 
Here, three miles south of Roanoke city, the analysis of Dr. Gascoyne, State 
chemist, reveals not only a high percentage of zinc and lead, in one small sample^ 
but $15 in silver to the ton. Anotlier sample sent west for assay returned $25.00 
to the ton in silver. 

Then, again, in Montgomery county, it is found at Langhorne's, above Big Spring 
and near the north flank of Pijot mountain (Blue Ridge, western limb) ; also at Cal- 
fee's, near Little river. In Pulaski some of the rocks at Pepper's ferry show it. 
At Calfee's, four miles below Reed Island creek, and on tlie opposite bank of New 
river, lower down, in a clift". Then, proceeding southwest, these great measures 
not only spread out laterally, but thicken vertically, so that when you reach Bertha 
and Palling Cliff Zinc mines of Wythe county the deposit is at least 200 feet from 
floor to roof, and more than 1,800 feet wide — almost wholly a pure zinc ore, ex- 
isting as a silico-carbonate, from which a metal is made at the smelting works, 
now in operation at Pulaski station, N. & W. railroad, yielding the following, by 
the analysis of Dr. P. de P. Ricketts : Metallic zinc, 99.9629 ; iron, 0.0371 ; lead, 
none. Then, again, prominently at the old Wythe Lead and Zinc mines, on New 
river, same county, where it exists in beds of 50 feet thickness and over, as blende 
and galena, below the zone of decomposition. These latter works have been in 
operation since long before the Revolutionary War— probably since about 1756 — 
supplying lead to the heroes of '76, and nine-tenths of that used by the Confed- 
erates in the late war. These mines have sold to* reducing works, on the sea- 
board, over 3*0,000 tons of zinc silicates, carbonates and silico-carbonates of a 
high order of purity, and now manufacture into shot and pig-lead 1,500 to 2,000 
tons of lead annually. Then, again, a few miles farther southwest, same county, 
near Ivanhoe Furnace and Painters, the ?ame extensive bands of zinc and lead 
exist, accompanied on one side with barytes. At other places, pursuing this basin 
of Cripple creek southwest, these deposits are exposed in Wythe and Smyth coun- 
ties — as at James', Wythe, and at Alexander, Neitch & Rowland's, in Smyth 
county, on Comers creek, Preston's and others; and then, becoming less in 
thickness, seem to disappear from the rocks in Washington county to make 
their appearance again in Tennessee. Nearly along with this great band of rocks, 
as at Mock's Mills, in Washington and other places, are deposits of handsome 
onyx-like travertine marble. 

With the vast deposits of lead and zinc, above described, there are much thicker 
bands of car-whoel iron ores just above and below them, showing tlielr greatest 
development in Pulaski and Wythe counties, so far as explored. In Wythe this- 



HAND-BOOK OP VIRGINIA. 115 

whole gtratiflcation is over 900 feet thick, from floor to roof (ores and limestone 
occupying separate spaces in the same stratification) and spreads out over two and 
a half miles in width in the New river— Cripple creek — basin, the brown iron ores 
being accompanied with valuable quantities of magnetic shot ores and red hematites. 
It is upon this line of inexhaustible ores, extending from below the Clark Bank, 
in Pulaski, through Rich Hill and the intervening beds of Graham and Robinson 
and others, in Wythe county, to the famous Cregger Bank, on Cripple creek and 
above that point, that the twenty-one furnaces and forges of that region are built, 
where, it is now said, that by the use of coke as a fuel, iron can be made at $9.50 
per ton, it being necessary to use there less than 500 pounds of limestone to the 
ton of metal produced. Farther southwest, in Smyth and Washington, these ores 
also show on south fork of Holston river, losing there in thickness, but changing 
to red hematites and semi-magnetites of a high order. 

As to a close chemical determination of these ores an average of seventeen 
samples gave Prof. McCreath, metallic iron, 54.514; phosphorus, 0.106; siliceous 
matter, 7.094 per cent. Other chemists, such as Dr. Brown, Dr. Froehling, and 
others, found many averages, some of which may be possibly just within the limits 
required for Bessemer purposes. In a few instances, as with the assays of McCreath, 
the ores of Ricli Hill and Ivanhoe were found within the Bessemer standard. The 
Smyth and Washington county red hematites and semi-magnetites of this zone 
were found by assay to yield 60 per cent, of metallic iron and 0.049 phosphorus. 

Next 'in order follow the great body of limestones of the " Valley," inter- 
stratified with sandstones, shales, slates and thin beds of iron ores — the sand- 
stones, shales, &c., rarely ever assuming large dimensions, when compared with 
the limestones as a whole. This regularity of these bands is sometimes inter- 
rupted by the intrusion, from one side or the other, of the Valley's lateral or 
marginal rocks that belong higher or lower in the geological scale. In Botetourt 
and Roanoke, in the instances of Purgatory, Mill, Tinker's, and Fort Lewis moun- 
tains, the great limestones of HI are out of sight beneath great cross flexures 
from the north side of immense bodies of rocks of the upper Silurian, Devonian, 
and proto-carboniferous periods, chiefly sandstones, slates, heavy bands of iron 
ores of V to VII (R), and beds of coal of a broken character, as that near Tin- 
ker's mountain. This is also true, in a measure," of Draper's mountain and the 
region just north of it, in Pulaski and Wythe counties, where the middlfe of the 
Valley is occupied by the rocks of V to VII (R), &c., and the region just north 
along Peak creek, by proto-carboniferous strata, with really valuable coal veins. 
While in Wythe and Symth counties, over definite areas, the great Valley lime- 
stones are, on the contrary, protruded and lost by an up-throw of the great Pots- 
dam floor with its iron and manganese ores ; — as is the case in Lick mountain in 
Wythe, and Glade and other mountains in Smyth county. 

With these general exceptions, the great Valley limestones are the marked geo- 
logical features of the " Valley." Occasionally they assume the character of 
marble ; again, they are so impregnated with magnesia as to become a source for 
the manufacture of hydraulic lime. From numerous samples, carefully tested by 
Prof. Wm. B. Rogers, he concluded that beds of magnesian limestones, suitable 
for making hydraulic lime or cement, exists in Botetourt, Roanoke, Montgomery, 
Wythe, Smyth and Washington ; and subsequent inspection proves their existence 
in all the Valley counties here treated. For cement purposes, the carbonate of 
magnesia should be found to exist in the stone as compared to carbonate of lime 
in a proportion of two to three. For a pure and good limestone, suitable for 
making a good quality of lime, probably the dark blue limestone, of which tlier* 



116 HAND-BOOK OP VIRGINIA. 

is so much iu all these counties, has no superior. It usually contain about 82 to 
86 per cent, of carbonate of lime, according to Prof. Rogers, and yields 47 per 
cent, of lime, when properly burnt. There are many ledges of very dark lime- 
stone, passing near many of the courthouses, which are situated about the middle of 
the Valley, which, when polished, have the appearance of black marble of fine 
texture. 

In addition to these uses mentioned, the gray and darker limestone ledges of 
sutlicient thickness, of which there are many, are employed universally in build- 
ing every description of masonry— houses, foundations, bridges, walls, «fec. Te 
all these valuable features must be added the many large and constant springs 
that flow from the limestone strata — many of them of a thermal character of ex- 
cellent merit. 

Then, as you enter the line of purely Trenton limestones, usually just northwest 
of the middle of the Valley, there is a persistent ledge of chert in all the counties, 
which, at intervals, presents to view large bodies of a semi-magnetic iron ore of 
great purity and possible usefulness; at several points in Botetourt, Roanoke 
(near Red Sulphur Springe), Montgomery, Wythe, Smyth and Washington (at 
Gallahers & Tilson's), yielding often over 60 per cent, of met. iron and about 0.1)38 
phosphorus. Along and near to these rocks are valuable and extensive deposits 
of barytes — found in large bodies in Smytli and other counties. 

Beyond this line northwest is a line of No. IV limestones, which yield excellent 
variegated marbles, and may be found in nearly all the counties where the order 
of position is not broken by cross flexures. 

In this line are large deposits also of brown iron ores ; and then, as you approach 
the northern margin of the Valley, a fault occurs, wiiich brings a downthrow of 
sub-carboniferous rocks against the rocks just described. 

In fact, on that side, in all the southwestern counties, there is a much wider 
margin of sub-carboniferous rocks than had hitherto been accredited to the re- 
gion. In this line of rocks, the coal just north of Catawba creek, in Botetourt, Is 
found ; that in Roanoke, on Tinker's creek, and ia Brushy, near Roanoke Red 
Sulphur Springs ; in Montgomery county, at Prices mountain, on both sides of the 
anticline, and iu Brushy mountain, in deposits over 7 feet thick ; in Pulaski, at 
Tyler's Belle Hampton mine, at Altoona mines, in two veins of 21-3 feet thick, 
ind in much of that region in Pulaski, extending from Pulaski station, westwardly 
along the Norfolk and Western railroad to the Wythe county line, on both sides 
of the railroad. 

In Wythe county this coal exists in Little Brushy mountain through its entire 
length in the county, as at Stony Fork and other places, and comes up near Clark's 
Summit and Max Meadows in a repetition of the strata in valuable deposits. In 
Smyth county it is also observed on the north margin of both the great Valley and 
Holston valley, north of the gypsum beds. Overlying the coal beds, geologically, 
is a band of gray and red shales and sandstones, separated from the coal by valu- 
able deposits of iron ore ; and over the red shales are limestones of soAe thickness, 
in which are very extensive deposits of iron ores. Tiie sandstones of the belt 
yield a ledge or two, excellent for building purposes ; being also soft in quarry 
are easily mined, while just under the coal is a band of excellent fire-proof sand- 
stones, proven good, also, in use, as grindstone grit. 

Along this general line (about the fault) are some of the great mineral springs 
ot these counties, such as : Botetourt springs, Roanoke Red Sulphur springs, 
Montgomery Yellow and White Sulphur springs, Chilhowie springs of Smyth, 
'Washington springs near Glade spring, and the Seven springs of Washington 



HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 117 

county, from which is made the valuable Seven springs iron and alum mass; 
Mangel's springs of Washington, and Holston springs of Scott county ; while 
Alleghany springs of Montgomery county are situated south of the great lead and 
zinc zone, and Daggers springs of Botetourt are in a line far to the north. 

Then, the last to be mentioned, but far from the least of the Valley's features, 
are the gypsum and salt of the north fork of Holston river, in Smyth and Wash- 
ington counties. They lie along the north side of the great fault that marks the 
line of that fork of Holston river, and are really a part of the sub-carboniferou» 
system of rocks. 

This massive deposit of gypsum, more than 600 feet thick, at Stuart and Bu- 
chanan's Cove, in Smyth county, shows conspicuously; also, at the Pearson 
Beds and at Saltville, in Smyth county, and at Bnena Vista, in Washington 
county. Many explorations and long continued examinations lead to the belief^ 
at last, that these vast gypsum deposits, showing for about 20 miles in length, really 
compose two or more regular 'strata of the sub-carboniferous rocks, and have a 
width, exposed and concealed, of one mile or more from the fault northward. It 
has been mined to a depth of about 180 feet at Saltville and Buena Vista, and its 
general composition by analysis is as follows : Lime, 32.50 ; sulphuric acid, 46.50^ 
and water, 20.50, showing traces of magnesia, alumina and iron. 

The rock at Saltville, possibly 200 feet thick by an unknown length, may have 
a different origin from that of the gypsum — possibly may be due to deposition in 
a secure basin, from brines flowing constantly from the salt-bearing groups of 
rocks known to be in the sub-carboniferous series. The brines are of an unusual 
degree of purity ; have been drawn upon for many years by the salt works of 
Saltville, making over 500,000 bushels of salt annually, without any appreciable 
diminution of either strength or quantity. Kailway communication is now by 
means of the Norfolk and Western railway — the upper or Buchanan and Pearson 
plaster deposits having railway communication. Altogether, " the Valley " pre- 
sents no more wonderful feature ! With unlimited basins of gypsum and salt, 
inexhaustible deposits of iron, lead, zinc and coal, inconceivably vast ledges of 
limestone, whose unequal solubility here and there have resulted in caves of mar- 
velous beauty; thermal and medicinal springs of high therapeutical and curative 
value ; an atmosphere of wonderful purity and power of invigoration, and a soil 
of great fertility, it may well be anticipated that '''The Valley^^^ besides becoming 
the home of extensive and varied industries, will be a sanitarium more numerously 
attended in the future, and is now a granary of unlimited natural capacity. 

Before dismissing " the Valley Division," it may be well to call attention to its 
great capacity as a fruit producer. Its orchards and gardens show that all fruits 
common to this latitude not only flourish well, but yield largely, with fewer 
average failures than is common in many other localitie . 



il8 HAND-BOOK OP VIEOINIA. 



COUNTIES OF THE GREAT VALLEY. 



NATURAL SUB-DIVIBIONS. COUNTIES. 

f Frederick. 

Clarke. 
I Warren. 
The Shenandoah Valley , -i Shenandoah. 

Page. 

Rockingham. 
, Augusta. 

The James River VaUey {ISSurtf 

The Roanoke Valley | Roanoke. 

{Montgomery. 
Pulaski. 
Wythe. 

The HolstoD or Tennessee Valley {^^shington 



HAKD-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 119 



YALLEY BY COUNTIES. 



AUGUSTA 

is chief among the counties of the famous "Valley of Virginia," second in size, 
containing more than a thousand square miles=62S,849 acres, assessed at 
$8,597,269; value of town lots, $190,586; and first in population, containing 
35,703 — white, 26,393 ; colored, 9,310. The surface is uneven and mountainous 
on its east and west boundaries, which are respectively the Blue Ridge and 
"Great North" mountains, an outlying range of the Appalachian chain. The 
valleys between these mountaing are extensive and very fertile, embracing the 
head waters of the Shenandoah river and that part of the " Valley of Virginia" 
at its greatest width. It is about thirty-five miles long and thirty wide, with an 
undulating surface, abounding in hills, fertile and well watered valleys, with fine 
water-power. 

Augusta has a variety of soils, producing wheat, corn, oats, rye, barley, buck- 
wheat, potatoes, turnips, beets, &g. ; also the various grasses for hay and pastur- 
age. This county is noted for its fine horses, fine cattle, hogs and sheep, the 
latter having greatly increased and improved since the enactment of a " dog law " 
for their protection. This county is notable also for the number and excellence 
of its flouring mills, propelled by the finest water-power. 

There are many mineral springs of excellent water of their kinds, among them 
the Stribling Springs, the Variety, Crawford, the Lone Fountain. Chalybeate, 
Lithia, &c., consisting of a gr^at variety of waters, much esteemed by the people 
and much resorted to by strangers. Many minerals are found in this county, 
such as u'on ore (brown hematite and specular), manganese in large quantities 
(which is mined), marble, kaolin, with a large factory awaiting capital to operate 
it, and coal of an anthracite character.* 

There are six or more iron furnaces, besides a considerable number of forges, 
which have been operated in this county on the vast deposits of iron ores, and 
they are making iron cheaper than it can be made North and West. The various 
fruits of this section succeed admirably in this county. 

Timber : oaks of the several kinds, white oak being very abundant and of 



* Mr. Charles Grattan, Superintendent of Schools, who has written me a very exoellent descrip- 
Mon of Augusta, and from which I have obtained some of the above information, says of this coal : 
"At Dora, where a shaft has been sunk, coal is taken out not inferior to the best Pennsylvania 
anthracite, is wagoned eighteen miles, and undersells the Northern coal. There is no doubt 
North Mountain is full of It." I regret that want of space prevents me from publishing Mr. Grat- 
tau'a letter in fnU, 



120 HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 

superior quality, hickory, chestnut, walnut, poplar, maple, beech, dog-wood, 
white asli, locust, pine (white and yellow), cedar, &c. Tanner's bark may be had 
in large quantities, and staves, hoop-poles, &c. 

The Chesapeake and Ohio railroad passes through the county, and is intersected 
at Staunton by the Valley branch of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, connecting 
it with Baltimore in nine hours and with Washington in seven hours. And the 
macadamized " Valley Pike," an excellent road, gives ready communication to 
various markets east, west and north. The Shenandoah Valley railroad also 
passes through the county, crossing the Chesapeake and Ohio railroad at Waynes- 
boro. Thus the county is traversed by three great lines of railroad, one from 
east to west and two from north to south. 

The capital or county seat of Augusta is Staunton. Here is the point of inter- 
section of two trunk lines of railroads, viz : The Chesapeake and Ohio and the 
Valley branch of the Baltimore and Ohio railroads. Here are the Western Lunatic 
Asylum, and the Asylum for the Deaf, Dumb and Blind, Also four prosperous 
female colleges, viz : The Virginia Female Institute (Episcopal) ; the Wesleyan 
Female College (Methodist) ; the Augusta Female Seminary (Presbyterian) ; and 
the Staunton Female Seminary (Lutheran), Here also are an iron foundry, wagon 
and implement factories, and numerous shops, banks, and churches of all lead- 
ing denominations. An annual Agricultural Fair is held here. 

There are many small towns and villages in the county. Waynesboro, at junc- 
tion of the Shenandoah Valley and the Chesapeake and Ohio railroad, is well sit- 
uated. The county is well supplied with churches and schools. If Augusta 
county had the same density of population as Rhode Island, it would sustain 
272,000 people, and it is well able to do so. 

The people of Augusta are intelligent, industrious, thrifty, sober, economical 
and homogeneous, being largely of Scotch-Irish parentage. 

Through the county stretches a band of magnesian limestone, and it is found 
near Weyer's Cave, west of Waynesboro, northwest of Staunton, near the base of 
Little NoFth mountain, and numerous other places. Its hydraulic character has 
been well tested. This cement has recently been found on the farm of John L. 
Peyton, and is pronounced by competent judges a first-class article. This lime- 
stone, from which hydraulic cement is made by burning, constitutes an important 
part of the formation of the Valley, both from its extent and economical value. 
It is usually of bluish gray, sometimes blended with yellow or brown, and some- 
times dark blue, but the best guide to its recognition is the dullness of the surface 
even when freshly broken, and the absence of fine grain of most limestones. 
Those in Augusta contain about from 44 to 53 per cent, of carbonate lime, and 33 
to 36 per cent, carbonate magnesia, and 2 to 7 of silica. The other constituents 
are generally alumina and oxide of iron in moderate proportions. A New York 
marble firm leased the Craigsville marble quarry in this county (encrinal marble, 
now in much demand), and have worked it largely ; the deposit is believed to be 
inexhaustible. The marble is represented as being very superior, finishing up in 
beautiful style, being more durable and smoother than the Tennessee marble, and 
equal to much of the Italian marble which is used on the finest furniture. A 
quarry of superior slate has been opened north of Staunton. These slate quar- 
ries are largely worked now, and are turning out mantels, hearths, wainscoting' 
steps, &G. The farmers have a fine home market in the city of Staunton, with 
its numerous schools, manufactories, and the State institutions, which alone dis- 
burse $100,000 annually. 



HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 121 

Aug;usta county was represented at the New Orleans Exposition in her mineral 
resources by the following specimens : 

From Professor Fontaine. , 

1. Brovm Hematite Iron Ore, from Kennedy tract, foot of Blue Ridge. 

2. Jointed Sandstone, from Blue Ridge, near Black Rook spring. 

3. Orhre, from Samuel Steele's, near Fishersyille, in large amounts. 

4. Mica Slate, with clorite spots, from west end of Rockflsh Gap tunnel, in con- 
siderable amounts. 

o. Staladitic Marble, from near Greenville. 

6. Quartz Crystals, from near Waynesboro. 

7. Ochre, from Samuel Steele's, in large quantities. 

8. Manganese, from Fauver beds, \\ miles from Vesuvius station, Shenandoah 
Valley railroad. 

9. Brown Hematite Iron Ore, from same locality. 

10. Ochre, from Samuel Steele's, near Fishersville. 

11, Brown Iron Ore, limonite, fibrous, radiated ; two lumps of 50 pounds each, 
from miae bank n Potsdam, No. 1, near head of south river of the James in 
Blue Ridge. 

] 2 Iron Ore, brown hematite and red shale, from mines of Buffalo Gap furnace. 

13. Pig Iron, from Buffalo Gap furnace, 

14. Limestone, Lower Helderberg, No. VI, from quarry of Buffalo Gap furnace. 

15. Iron Ore, from banks in No. VII, Oriskany, that supplies Elizabeth furnac* 
at Ferrol station, Chesapeake and Ohio railway. 

16. Limestone, from No. VI, at Elizabeth furnace. 

17. Mirhle, polished slab and blocks, from qurry of Coral Marble Company, in 
Lower H-ld-^rberg, No. VI, on Chesapeake and Ohio railroad, near Craigsville. 

18. Brown Iron Ore, from old Mossy Creek Mines, in formation No. II. 

19. Marble, encrinal, from land of Martin K. Garber, Marble Valley, Big Calf 
Pasture rivor. 

20. Mariganese Ore, pyrolusite, mammillary forms, from Crimora mines. 

21. Brown Iron Ore, from Kennedy mine. 

22 Kaolin, washed China clay, from beds of Virginia China Clay and Fire 
Briok ('ompany. 

23 Fire Bricks, of high grades, for all purposes, from above company. 
24. Iran Ore. trom deposit in Valley limestone. No, II. 

25 Stalactites and Stalagmites, Calcspar, encrusted articles, &c,, Ac, from 
Weyers' Cave. 

28. Tufaceous or Calcareous Marl, recent deposit from waters of Lewis creek, 
near St;tunton, wirh ca-^t of leaves now growing along the creek. 

27. 'Smd Rock, from No. IX, Cat.skill, from summit of Mount Rogers, 4,500 feet 
above tiile, on line of Chesapeake and Ohio railway. 

28. Anthracite Coal, from Dora coal mine, from formation No. X. 

29. Slate, "t-llckensided," or polished by friction of rocks in a great down 
throw of g. olo»ic.'il formations; from Dora coal mine. 

30. Two large Stalactites and one Stalagmite, from the Fountains Cave. 

31. Iron Ors, limonite, cubical, black, 12''' by \Q^\ from Elizabeth furnace ore 
beds, ii! Oriskany, No Vll, at Ferrol station, Chesapeake and Ohio railway. 

32. Aryentifcrous Galena (lead and silver), from land of M. K. Garber. 

33. Spiegeleisen, from Edgar Thompson Steel Works, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, 

8 



122 HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 

made from manganese from Crimora.mine on Shenandoah Valley railroad, In this 
county. 

34. Flaggy Limestone, from No. Ill, on Trenton, from Long Glade. 

35. Slate, from "Redbud" quarry, in Formation No, III, Hudson River. 

BOTETOURT 

was formed in 1770 from Augusta. It is forty-four miles long and about eighteen 
miles wide, and contains 372,G27 acres, valued at $2,308,702. Population, 14,809 
— white, 10,159 ; colored, 4,650. 

Thi3 is one of the finest counties of the James River Valley, and is noted for 
its fine grass lands and fat cattle. Tlie surface is rolling, and parts of the county 
are mountainous. The soil is fertile, being formed in large part from the dis- 
integration of limestone rocks. 

The productions are tobacco, wheat, corn, oats, cattle and fruits, forming a large 
aggregate of value. Extensive areas are devoted to fruit growing, and much fruit 
annually canned and evaporated. There are several large canning establishments 
in the county. James river flows through the county, and, with its tributaries, 
gives abundant water-power. 

It is traversed by the Richmond and Alleghany railroad following the banks of 
the James a distance of forty miles, from east to west, and by the Shenandoah 
Valley railroad from northeast to southwest ; and the Norfolk and Western rail- 
road crosses the southeast corner. These roads give convenient access to market 
from all parts of the county, and have been the means of developing some of the 
finest iron ore deposits in the State, immense in extent, indeed practically inex- 
haustible. Five miles below Clifton Forge depot, near the railroad, and in a very 
accessible situation, is a surface deposit of brown hematite ore, forming a solid 
mass 300 feet long, 60 feet wide, and 25 feet high. This ore yields by analysis 
55 per cent, of superior iron. Limestone in the same region is abundant and of 
excellent quality. " The Arcadia Iron works employ 125 hands ; they use specu- 
lar ore, yielding 60 to 65 per cent, metallic iron." — Fincastle Herald. " The opera- 
tions of this company have fully proven the existence of four or more continuous 
beds of specular iron ore (hematite), averaging three feet in thickness, which out- 
crop in northeast and southwest lines in the western or primordial Blue Ridge 
for nine miles, from near Buchanan to the northeast, in a three-mile wide belt of 
mountain chain, parallel with and adjacent to James river. Many thousand tons 
of this ore, proven by analysis and furnace tests.to be of good quality, have been 
mined from the mountain side, adits and open cuts. Vast quantities of this 
specular ore can here be cheaply mined, while from the western side of the same 
belt, almost on the banks of the James in its eastern bends, brown hematite ore 
(limonite) can be had in abundance from the broad band of that ore that here, as 
ejse where, accompanies and caps the Potsdam. I have never before seen sucli a 
(development of specular ores in Virginia, and am satisfied that the inducements 
offered by their abundance and consequent cheapness in the immediate vicinity of 
four or five other varieties of ores, that are also abundant, and at a moderate dis- 
tance from the best coking coals of the great Oliio basin, must go far towards 
making Botetourt one of the great iron-producing centres of the country. * * * 
No region can furnish more cheaply than this any or all the varieties of limestone 
needed for fluxing in blast furnaces ; some of these contain 98.30 per cent, of car- 
bonate of lime, others abound in alumina. Marbles of various kinds abound 
among these lower silurian rocks." — The Virginias. 



HAND-BOOK OF VIEGINIA. 123 

A flne-grainerl gray marble, solid and massive, is found near Buchanan in a bed 
fifty yards wide. The brown hematite (limonifco) iron ores have not only a re- 
markable development in Botetourt county, but they are so disposed in thick, 
continuous beds, and extended outcrops, that they can be cheaply mined on a 
large scale; These ores are found in nearly all the mountains of the county. 
Specular ore has b';en discovered near Buchanan, one vein fifteen feet thick and 
analyzing 65 per cent, pure metal. In summing up an account of his exploration 
of the ores belonging to the Arcadia Iron Mining Company, in this county. Pro- 
fessor ,7. L. Campbell gives the following as his opinion of the quality, quantity SLud 
accessibility of these ores : "As to quality, the chemical analyses and furnace-tests 
speak most favorably. As to quantity, * * ten generations cannot exhaust the 
supply. As to accessibility, the beds are very favorably situated for mining, 
either by open cuts or tunnels. The numerous ravines that cut across the strata 
give natural openings at whicli to begin mining operations, and as these ravines 
all descend towards the river, all the ore can be transported by a down grade to 
the point of shipment and use. The Arcadia Iron works were sold January 6, 
1880, to a Pennsylvania company for $125,000. The Salisbury Manufacturing 
Company has recently put its furnace in operation on the Richmond and Alle- 
ghany railroarl. The Roaring Run furnace property, about 10,000 acres of iron 
land, on the Richmond apd Alleghany railroad, promises to be one of the leading 
iron-producing properties in the State. They are raising a large quantity of ore, 
and expect to erect charcoal furnaces for the manufacture of charcoal iron of 
high grade." , 

An esteemed correspondent writes us the following : 

" Botetourt, along with her kindred valley counties comprising the lovely Valley 
of Virginia, may justly boast of as much solid thrift in all manner of industries 
as any part of our common country; of course many of these industries are in 
their infancy for want of means and people to bring them to a magnitude com- 
mensurate with the natural resources of the county. From an agricultural stand- 
point, we produce, in great perfection, wheat, corn, oats, rye, tobacco, Irish and 
sweet potatoes, all of the valuable grasses, peaches, grapes and apples. All small 
fruits succeed admirably. Within a compass of four miles from wliere I now 
write, there are more than (200,000) two hundred thousand bearing peach trees, 
and immense apple orchards, tlie fruits of which are either canned or evaporated 
for market. There are seven steam canning establishments within the small com- 
pass above referred to, where fruits and vegetables are packed, furnishing employ- 
ment for over one thousand hands — men and women — yielding an income yearly 
to the proprietors of as much as one hundred and thirty thousand dollars. 

"Inexhaustible deposits of coal of the best quality, ean be furnished on the line 
of the Shenandoah Valley railroad at a little above three dollars per ton. This 
road traverses the entire length of the county from south to north on the line of 
which there is pretty much an unbroken chain of immense iron ore beds, several 
of which are now being worked on a large scale. On the eastern side of the county 
the Norfolk and Western railroad also penetrates inexhaustible iron ore beds, as 
also does the Richmond and Alleghany railroad on the northern side. We are as- 
sured that the Valley railroad, partially constructed through our county, will soon 
be completed to intersect the Norfolk and Western road at some point in the county 
of Roanoke. For educational advantages, our county is closely dotted all over 
with public school houses, our towns and a few of the country places supplied with 
schools of higlier grade. Just on the southern border of this county the famous 
'Hollins Institute ' is located, certainly one of the best female schools in the State. 



124 HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 

A few hours drive brings us to Roanoke College, at Salem, and at a shorter dis- o 
tance the city of Roanoke. 

"There are five mineral water resorts in this county, all of which are (in sea- 
son) crowded with visitors, hence we have a market pretty much at city prices 
for everything that can be eaten, from an English pea up to an ox. 

"All of the religious d'^nomiwations are well represented with good church build- 
ings, in towns and country. Stores, mills and workshops in abundance. No ma- 
laria, cyclones and earthquakes known, no riots, no mobs, not much whisky 
and very few people in jail. 

" Finally, I can say to immigrants there are lands, large and small tracts, water- 
power, &c., &c., for sale at fair prices in this county, and a most cordial and 
home welcome will be given to all who may come amongst us, 

" All things considered, I think it equal to any spot on this earth.'''' 

Botetourt had on exhibition at the New Orleans Exposition the following sam- 
ples of minerals : 

1. Manganese, from H. C. Snyder's land, three miles from Buchanan. 

2. Rtd^Shale Iron Ore., from Clinton, No. V, beds in Purgatory mountain, three- 
quarters of a mile from Buchanan station, Richmond and Alleghany railroad. 
This specimen is from a pile of 300 tons, now mined and stocked at one point on 
an extensive outcrop thart has been uncovered at six places, and shows a regular 
thickness of from 18 to 28 feet. 

3. Manganiferous Iron Ore, from same locality as preceding. 

4. Red Specular Iron Ore, from Arcadia furnace property, four miles east of 
Buchanan, from Potsdam No. 1 beds. 

5. Manganese, from'Houston iron mine, near Houston station, S. V. R. R. ; 
used f'>r Spiegel at Cambria Works, Johnstown, Pa. 

6. Marble, from Silurio- Cambrian beds, No. II, from Thomas', on Catawba 
cre< k, three miles east from Roanoke Red Sulph^jr Springs. 

7. Calate, from line of S. V. R. R., two miles east from Buchanan. 

8. Pyrite, from Lunsford's, near Bonsack station, N, & W. R R. 

21. Celltdar Brown Hematite Iron Ore, from No. Ill, Hudson river (?) shales, 
from the thick, regularly stratified beds of Old Catawba Furnace mines. 

22. Massive Brown Hematite Iron Ore, from same mines as above. 

23. Light Gray Limestone, No. II, from quarry on S. V. R. R. below Buchanan ; 
used for flux at Crozet furnace. 

24. Blue Limestone, No. II, from near Blue Ridge Springs, N. & W. R. R. ; 
used for llux at Crozet furnace. 

25. Limonite, brown iron ore, from Houston mine?, near Houston station, S. 
V. It. R. 

26. Limonite^ brown iron ore, from minus of Crozet Steel and Iron Co., near 
Blue Ri.lge Springs, N. & W. R. R. 

27. Marble., from G. Gray, 

. 28. Red Iron Ore. from G. Gray. 
2y. Pyrites, from G. Gray. 

30. Limestone, from quarry of Indian Rock Lime Works — Edward Dillon, pro- 
prit'tor. 

31. UviZa&ediiwie, from above, 
32 Slaked Lime, from above. 

33. Limonite Iron Ore, irom Purgatory ^louatain mine, near Sal tpetre Cave 
station, R. and A. R. R. 



HAND-BOOK OP VIRGINIA. 125 

34. Pig Iron, No. I grade, charcoal, from Salisbury furnace, near Salisbury 
statioa, R. and A. R. R. 

35. Limonite Iron Ore, from Rocky Gully ore bed, Purgatory Mountain. 

36. Limonite, brown iron ore, from near Eagle Rock station, R. and A. R. R. 
Analysis by Dr. A. Koenig of run of mine gives 47 per cent, metallic iron, low 
silca, and only trace of manganese. ^ 

.37. Manganiferous Iron Ore, same locality as above, 

38. Limestone, containing 97.5 per cent, carbonate lime ; abounds at same lo- 
cality. 

39. Limestone, samples from Lower Helderberg, No. VI, Prices' Bluff, R. and 
A. R. R. 

40. Limonite Iron Ore, from Oriskany, No. VII, mines of Wilton furnace, east 
sloi>e of Rich-patch mountain. 

The following is t^ken from the list of Roanoke county minerals, as they plainly 
belong to Botetourt : 

16. Iron Ores, Limestone and Pig Irons, from Crozet furnace, Roanoke eity» 
from Mr. Samuel Crozet, president, and Col. D.F.jHouston, superintendent, viz : 

1. Limestone, from Buchanan, Botetourt county, on line of S. V. R. R. 

2. Limestone, from near Blue Ridge station, Botetourt county, N. & W. R. R, 

3. Limonite Iron Ore, from Houston mines, near Houston station, S. V. R. R., 
. Botetourt county. 

4. Limonite Ore. from mines of Crozet Steel and Iron Company, near Blue Ridge 
station, Boutetourt county. ^ 

CLARKE. 

Clarke county was formed from Frederick in 1836. It is seventeen miles long 
and about ten wide, and contains 109.343 acres, assessed at ^2,842,021. Popula- 
tion—white, 5,145; colored, 2,537; total, 7,682. 

This beautiful county is, in proportion to area, almost, if not quite, the richest 
in the State, and the assessed value of lands is the highest except that of Lou- 
doun. The Shenandoah river flows through the eastern part of the county, at the 
foot of the Blue Ridge. 

The surface of the main part of the county, lying between the Shenandoah and 
Opequan rivers, is gently undulating— just f^ufflciently so for drainage. The soil is 
of unsurpassed fertility, and peculiarly adapted to the growth of wheat and corn, 
clover and timothy. Blue grass is indigenous, and soon forms, on uncul'ivated 
fields, a sod equal to the far-famed fields of Kentucky. The land east of the 
Shenandoah river is mountainous, and generally covered with valuable timber of 
'pine, oak and chestnut. When cleared the mountain sides produce blue grass, 
affording fine pasturagj for sheep and cattle. Sumac grows in abundance on the 
mountain fields, and affords a source of considerable income to the inhabitants. 

It belongs to the limestone formation ; the limestone being readily obtained on 
almost every farm for building purposes and for burning into lime. Iron ore of 
rich character is found in great abundance, and is now being mined and shipped 
to the furnaces of Pennsylvania. Copper and lead are also found. Numerous 
flour mills are located in the county, manufacturing flour extensiyely for the Bal- 
timore and other markets. 

Wheat, corn and hay are the special productions, with all kinds of fruits of this 
latitude for home consumption, and apples for export. 



126 HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA.. 

Large numbers of cattle, sheep* and hogs are grazed and fed, and sold in Balti- 
more, Philadelphia and New York markets, and many fine horses sold to city 
buyers. 

The climate is healthy ; the people intelligent and enterprising ; the farms well 
improved with buildings and fencing of the best character ; and the system of 
cultivation thorough and profitable. 

Churclies of the various Christian denominations are found in the villages and 
in the country, and public schools in sufficient number to meet the demands of 
the people. 

BerryviUe, the county seat, is a flourishing town of 1,500 inhabitants, beauti- 
fully situated on the Shenandoah Valley railroad. It contains seven churches, a 
graded school of high character, one bank, and a number of mercantile establish- 
ments. The other villages in the county are Millwood, Boyce and White Post. 

The Shenandoah Valley railroad, extending from Hagerstown, Maryland, to 
Eoanoke, Virginia, passes through the county from north t(J south ; the Valley 
Branch of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad passes through the northwestern part 
of the county ; and the Washington and Ohio railroad, when completed, will pass 
through from east to west. Five Macadamized turnpikes traverse the county. 

Clarke county had the following 

MINERALS ON EXHIBITION AT THE NEW ORLE.VNS EXPOSITION. 

1. Limonite Iron Ore, from the " BerryviUe " mines, mine No. 1, the " Burchell." 

2. Limonite Iron Ore^ from mine No. 2, the " Morgan." 

3. Limonite Iron Ore, from mine No. 3, the " Moore." 

4. Limonite Iron Ore, from mine No. 4, the "Wilson." 
6. Limonite Iron Ore, from mine No. 5, the "Griffith." 

6. Kaolin, from Carter Shepherd's farm, west of Shenandoah river at Castle- 
man's ferry. 

7. Iron Ore, from Dr. Foster Burchell's, three miles south of BerryviUe. 

8. Iron Ore, from C. H. Castleman's, west of Shenandoah river, at Castleman's 
ferry. 

9. Iron Ore, from J. K. Louthan, two miles west of Berry ville. 
10. Iron Ore, magnetic, from Major T. L, Humphreys. 

FREDERICK 

was formed in 1738 from Orange. It is twenty-five miles long and about eigh- 
teen miles wide. It is the northernmost county of Virginia since the partition of 
the State, and one of the finest of the famed Valley of Virginia, and i9 noted both 
for its fine lands and good farming. 

The surface is undulating, and the soil very productive. The eastern portion, 
has a belt of gray slate land from two to six miles wide, and running the entire 
length of the county on the line of Clarke. 

This soil produces fine crops of grain and grass. 

The timber here is oak, hickory and ash, and pine on the slate lands. 

The limestone belt, which is four to eight miles wide, is one of the finest and 
most productive sections in the State. 

West of this valley is the " Little North mountain " ; between it and the " Big 
North mountain " is a valley about six miles wide of limestone land. In this val- 
ley vire some valuable lands and fine farms. 

The timber in the limestone belts consist of fiaely grown trees of oak, hickory, 
walnut, ash, locust and elm. 



HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 127 

Travertine marl exists in the limestone valleys. 

In the North mountain are extensive deposits of iron ore of good quality, which 
has been suecessf ally worked, with several furnaces. Coal of anthracite char- 
acter is also found. 

West of North mountain the land is generally a gray slate formation, which 
produces well. 

Eock Enon Springs, on the west of North mountain, and Jordan White Sul- 
phur Springs, five miles from Winchester, have an extended reputation for the 
virtue of their waters, and are liberally patronized. The water of the Jordan 
Springs is very much like that of Greenbrier White Sulphur, and it is used in the 
same class of diseases. 

The chief productions of this county are wheat, corn, rye, buckwheat, oats and 
the grasses. Fruits succeed well, the apple particularly. 

Winchester is the largest town, and has a population of nearly 6,000. There are 
several smaller towns, beautifully located on the banks of the streams which flow 
ii'om the adjacent liills and mountains. 

Population, including Winchester, 17,553 ; white, 14,997 ; colored, 2,556. 

Number of acres of land, 268,950 ; assessed at $3,454,408. 

In this county are some of the best lauds of the Stienandoah Valley. Soil, 
climate and air combine to make this one of the richest and healthiest regions ia 
the world, and it abounds in clear streams and copious springs. One of these springs, 
just outside the city limits, gives to Winchester an abundant supply of the purest 
water. 

" Within the county of Frederick, and at an average distance of eight miles 
irom Winchester, are thirty-seven flour mills, the largest of which is the Baker 
steam mill, which has a capacity of 175 barrels of flour per day. There are seven 
woolen mills, eight tanneries, one steam paper mill, one bone dust and fertilizer 
factory, one sumac and bark mill, two iron foundries, a shoe factory, six glove 
factories—" the largest of which works from 200 to 300 hands " ; " ten cigar fac- 
tories, workings to 40 hands each, three bos factories, three carriage factories, 
one wheat-fan factory, several cabinet factories, one agricultural implement fac- 
tory, several saw and planing mills, and quite a number of minor operations of 
various kinds." "The county has no public debt, and its parish farm is about 
self-supporting." "It has two banks— the Shenandoali Valley National, capital 
1100,000, surplus $60,000 ; and the Union (State), capital $50,000.*' There are 
three excellent female seminaries — Episcopal, Methodist and Presbyterian — and 
one male academy, located in Winchester, and a flourishing Normal school in 
Middletown! The new public school building in Winchester is an ornament and 
credit to the city. The National and Stonewall cemeteries are witliin the corpo- 
rate limits of Winchester. Three weekly newspapers and one monthly literary 
paper are published within the county." 

The Valley Branch of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad runs through the county, 
and is a great through route for travel and traffic from the east and northeast to 
the south and southwest. The Washington and Ohio railroad, when extended, 
will cross this county via Winchester from east to west. 

MONTGOMERY 

was formed in 1776 from what was then called Fincastle district. It is about 22 
miles on each of its irregular sides, and contains 247,600 acres of land, assessed 
at $2,670,000. Population, 16,717 ; white, 12,489 ; colored, 4,227. 



128 HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 

The surface is rolling in the central and southern portions, and mountainous ia 
the northern and western parts. The soil is a rich limestone, well adapted t» 
grain and tobacco, and all the grasses grown in Virginia ; so that for grazing and 
stocltraisinar it is unsurpassed. 

Montgomery enjoys a delightful and healthy climate, and is a most desirabl* 
part of the great Valley of Virginia. 

Timber is abundant — oak of different varieties, chestnut, walnut, hickory, elm, 
poplar, <fcc. 

It is drained by New river and the headwaters of the Roanoke, which are util- 
ized to a considerable extent in manufacturing- enterprises of various kinds. 

The Norfolk and Western railroad passes through the centre from northeast to 
southwest ; a branch road from the Norfolk aad Western runs along the west line 
a short distance on its route to the Pocahontas coal mines, in Tazewell county. 

The minerals fouu'l here are iron ores, gold, galena, zinc, copper, manganese, 
coal, slate, millstone, and limestones. Much of this mineral wealth is now being 
developed and gives employment to capital and labor. Recent discoveries of gold 
have created much excitement, and there have been several sales of mining pro- 
perties at high figures. There are three mineral springs in the county — the 
"Montgomery White Sulphur," the "Alleghany Springs," and the "Yellow 
Sulphur Springs," near the Norfolk and Western railroad, all watering places of 
great repute. 

Christiansburg, the county seat, is a thriving town of 1,400 inhabitants. The 
Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College is located at Blacksbtirg, in the 
midst of a fine farming countrj^, surrounded by varied and beautiful scenery. 
This institution is doing an admirable work in educating the young men of this 
and other sections of the State. 

MONTGOMERY COUNTY MINERALS AT NEW ORLEANS EXPOSITION. 

1. Limonite, from large deposit on the Spindle lands, near Alleghany Springs, 
near Norfolk and Western railroad, from F. J. Chapman. 

2. Native Gold, from Stone's, from C. R. Boyd. 

3. Gold Bearing Quartz, Placer Gold and Gold Gravels, Brush creek, from W. 
H. Harman, 

4. Galena, from near Alleghany Springs, from Prof. Fontaine. 

The following from Major John T. Cowan, Cowan's Mills P. O. 

5. Millstone Grit, suitable and used for millstones, from Brushy mountain. 

6. Coal, simi-anthracite, from McCoy's mine, on northeast bank of New river. 
Brushy mountain. 

7. Slate, from Pov;^rty Valley, Tom's creek, eastern slope of Brushy mountain. 

8. Eed Shale Iron Ore, No. V, from Webb mine, in Gap mountain, used ia 
Sinking Creek Iron Works. 

From Virginia Department of Agriculture. 

9. Lead and Zina Ore, from Geo. W. Anderson. Assays, 32.78 metallic lead, 
and 24.88 metallic zinc. 

10. Mispickel or Arsenical Pyrites, from W. J. Guerrant. 

. PAGE 

was formed in 1831 from Shenandoah and Rockingham. The whole county is a 
valley thirty miles in length and about eleven miles wide, with the Shenandoah. 



HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 12^ 

river running through its entire length, and contains 179,163 acres, valued at 
$1,713,918. Population, 9,970— white, 8,856 ; colored, 1,114. The surface of th« 
broad and fertile valley is gently undulating, and rises gradually to the summits 
of two low mountain ranges which form its east and west borders, the Blue Ridge 
on the east and Massanutten on the west. 

The soil is a rich limestone of unsurpassed productiveness, admirably suited to 
grain and grass. 

Page county is traversed in its entire length by the Shenandoah Valley rail- 
road, which runs through the centre and affords transportation convenient to all 
parts of the county. Since the construction of this road the development of the 
county has been very rapid. 

Valuable timber of many kinds, as oak, pine, locust, chestnut, walnut, ash and 
poplar is abundant. The minerals are iron ores, in vast quantities, ochre, man- 
ganese, copper, limestone, some of it magnesian, and travertine marl. 

Near Luray is a beautiful cave with an endless succession of extensive cham- 
bers ornamented with numerous stalactites and stalagmites. This is numbered 
among the noted caverns of the world, and attracts from all parts of the country 
thousands of visitors curious to examine its wonders, which surpass those of any 
other known to man. It is now fitted up with electric lights and all conveniences 
for exhibition. 

Luray, the county seat, is a beautiful town, and one of much commercial im- 
portance, being the emporium of this rich Page Valley, and on the line of the 
great Shenandoah Valley railroad. 

"It has nearly trebled its population since the opening of the railroad, five 
j^ears since— nineteen stores, including drug, hardware, confectionery and imple- 
ment stores, one incorporated female seminary, one public high school, four pub- 
lic schools, and two private and select schools, one Epi>^copal, two Methodist, 
three Baptist and one Lutheran church, one bank, two weekly newspapers, etc., 
and sixty-eight public schools in the county. A building association recently or- 
ganized promises well, having already a number of buildings to erect. 

"There are in the county a number of chalybeate and sulphur springs. The 
county is free from malaria, and its general healthfulness admitted. Luray is 
becoming a summer resort for city people. The Luray Inn, and Hotel Laurance 
afford accommodations not surpassed anywhere in the country. The Inn, built 
in Queen Ann style, is especially attractive to persons of means (three to four 
dollars per day), and from June 1st to October 1st is always full. Its enlarge- 
ment is promised in the near future. 

" FaruDing lands along the streams are held at $20 to $100 for entire tracts. The 
better class of farmers have been very prosperous since the war, until the recent 
decline in the price of wheat and cattle, as shown by their improved barns and 
dwellings, some of the latter being handsome structures in modern style. 

"The average yield of wheat for the entire county is about fifteen bushels, the 
better lands producing twenty-five to thirty-six„ The average for corn is about 
thirty-five bushels, the highest yields in good seasons reaching seventy five. 

"Farm hands are paid eight to twelve dollars per month and board. Occasion- 
ally day laborers on farms are paid seventy-five cents per day. The supply of 
labor is ample, white and colored. The hotels, boarding houses, tannery, iroa 
works and mines consume most of the surplus products of the hennery, dairy 
and garden. The price of fruit, green and dried, not justifying shipment, it is 
saved by being distilled into brandy." 



130 HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA, 

PAGE COUNTY MINERALS AT NEW ORLEANS EXPOSITION. 

The followins: Bpecimens were contributed by Mr. E. A. Eandle, of Luray : 

1. Brown Hematite Iron Ore, from " Bonanza" mine, of Harmer, F.andle & Co. 

2. Brown Hematite, from "Audenried " mine, of Va. Ore and Iron Co., of Luray. 

3. Brown Hematite, from " Shank " mine, of A. E, Randle. 

4. Brown Hematite, ivom " AVeatherhols " mine, of A. E. Randle. 
Ji. Brown Hmatite. from "Pipe Ore " mine, of A. E. Randle. 

6. Brown Hematite, from '' Williams" mine, of A. E. Randle. 

7. Brown Hematite, from '' Murray " mine, of A. E. Randle. 

8. Brown Hematite, from " Piney Mountain " mine, of Harmer, Randle & Oo. 

9. Brown Hematite, from " Printz " mine, of Harmer, Randle & Co. 

10. Brown Hematite., from " Vulcan " mine, of Maris & Randle. 

11. Brown Hematte, from ""Honey Run" mine, of Harmer, Randle & Co. 

12. Brown Hematite, from '' Housen " mine, of Harmer, Randle & Co. 

13. Brown Hematite, from ''Farmazanfa " mine, of Harmer, Randle & Co. 

14. Brown Hematite^ from " Dovel" mine, of Harmer, Randle & Co. 

15. Bromn Hematite^ frooa "East Liberty" mine, of Miles & Randle. 

16. Epidote, occurs in syenite at Milam Gap on west side of Blue Ridge, Prof. 
Fontaine. 

17. Iron Ore, Limonite, from "Cornelia" mine, near Rust Siding, S. V. R. R., 
B. C. Ru^t, proprietor. 

18 Limonite, from "Strickler" mine, near above, same owner. 

From Collection of N. & W. and S. V. R. R. 

Iron Ore, from '*' Beverley " mine, one mile southeast of Ingham station, S. 
V. R. R. 

Iron Ore, from "Rust" mine, two miles northwest from Kimball station, 
«. V. R. R. 

19. Limonite, from "Beverley" mine. 

20 Ochre, yellow, crude, from Oxford Ochre Co. 

21. Ochre, yellow, ground, from mills of Oxford Ochre Co. 

PULASKI • ' 

was formed in 1839 from Wythe and Montgomery. It is twenty- five miles long 
and eighteen miles wide. The surface in some parts broken and in others level. 
The soil is very good, and adapted to grain and grazing. 

Population, 8,752; white, 6,302; colored, 2,450. Number of acres of land, 
213,585, assessed at $1,873,857. 

Tlie county is situated in the fertile and beautiful New river valley, and is 
noted for its rich hay and grass and fine stock. 

"Its increased railroad facilities and mineral developments have been greater in 
the last three years than any county in the State. From the Norfolk and Western 
railroad, which is tlie main line running througli tlie county from east to west, 
two important branches h.ave been tiirown out— one starting from New River 
Bridge and extending a distance of eiijhty-four miles into Tazewell county, open- 
ing up the great Pocahontas or Flat Top coal field ; and the other, under con- 
struction, leaves the main line at Martin's, now Pulaski City and extends up the 



HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 131 

Now river and Cripple creek valleys, through Wythe and Grayson counties, into 
North Carolina, and the wealth of iron, lead, copper, zinc and other ores that 
will be opened up to market is simply marvelous. 

"In addition, within the last year the Belle Hampton Coal and Iron Company 
have built a narrow-gauge road from near Churchwood, on the New river road, 
to Tyler's Brush mountain coal mines, a distance of four and a quarter miles, 
and is mining and shipping a quantity of stove and grate coal that commands the 
best price of any coal in the State. This company has not been able to supply its 
demands. They have opened four veins— one 2 feet, one 2i, one 5, and one 3^ 
feet thick. The smaller vein is the most valuable and the one principally worked. 
This vein is about 80 per cent, anthracite, and the others are soft and semi-bitu- 
minous. 

'■ In 1878 the Altoona narrow-gauge road was built from M;irtins to their valuable 
coal fields — a distance of eight mile? — and has transported great quantities of coal, 
which has been used principally in smelting zinc ore at the Bertha Zinc Works, 
and at the salt furnaces of Col. Geo. W. Ptilmer at Saltville. Col. Palmer now 
owns the Altoona railroad, the coal banks and also most of the Bertha Zinc 
Works. The Altoona Coal Company have two veins — one 3J feet thick and the 
other about 20 feet. These veins are bituminous and answer well for smelting 
the zinc, and use in the salt furnaces. 

"The coal on Brushy mountain, on which are located the Altoona and Belle 
Hampton (or Tyler's) mines, crops out near the top of the mountain for a distance 
of about forty miles — through Pulaski county, and east and west into Wythe and 
Montgomery counties — and lays at a pitch of about thirty-five degrees, and from 
the fact that the veins are thrown up again some miles south — on the Tract moun- 
tain, in Pulaski, and Price's mountain, in Montgomery — it is believed that 
the substratum of the whole valley between is one solid mass of coal. This valley 
contains some of the best grazing and grain land in the county. Other openings 
have been made on the veins of coal mentioned ; perhaps the next most im- 
portant development is by Mr. J. R. Miller, near Martin's station. 

"There are valuable veins of limestone and fiae building stone. Limestone, 
sandstone, or granite can be gotten, and a fine vein of millstone rock is found on 
Brushy mountain, near the coal vein. Eock nearly equal to the French burr is 
gotten out near the Belle Hampton coal banks. There is also on the same moun- 
tain a vein from which valuable grindstones are made, and another that furnishes 
whetstones only surpassed by the genuine Irish hone. 

" Many diflferent kinds of oi'es are found in large quantities. The Radford furnace 
has been in operation for many years. The ore is inexliaustible and of the finest 
quality. A vein of zinc ore fifteen feet thick has been found on the lands of D. 
S. Forney, and near here are the well-known " Bertha Zinc Mine?," from which 
a supply of ore, j'ielding 45 per eent., is drawn for the furnace at Martin's, on the 
Norfolk and Western railroad, that has a capacity of 1,300 tons of spelter a year. 
In other places iron, lead, copper, manganese, &i., are found. 

"One of the finest bodies of mineral lands in the United States is located partly 
in the extreme south v/estern end of the county, beginning near the junction of 
Big and Little Reed Island creeks with New river, and extending a great distance 
up tlie New River valley. " Boon Furnace," in this coimty, is situated on a bed 
of this ore, and is regarded as one of the most profitable f arnaces in tlie United 
States. It continued in operation all through the suspension, although having to 
haul its product fifteen miles to reach a shipping point. 

"Valuable lead and zinc deposits occur in juxtaposition to these iron beds 



132 HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 

throughout their extent. Taken altogether, it is unsurpassed by any mineral 
gection in the world. 

" Great attention is paid by nearly all the leading agriculturists of the county to 
raising thoroughbred cattle, as well as thoroughbred horses, sheep and hogs. 

"The timber embraces all the varieties found in this section, via. : oak, pine, 
hickory, poplar, c<^dar, cherry, a^h, walnut, maple, locust, sycamore, etc. 

" There are many streanjs, atFording valuable water-power for mill-j and manu- 
facturing purposes. At Snowville, a thrifty little village, they have a woolen mill, 
a foundry, ngricultnral implement shops, and other machinery, and at New River 
Bridge a foundry and spoke factory, and other works are in contemplation in 
diflferent parts of the county. The little station heretofore known as Martin's la 
now called Pnlaski City, and promises to be quite a place when the Cripple Creek 
road is completed. 

*' There are two papers published in the county, and as many churches as can be 
found anywhere to the population. Schools are in a flourishing condition, and to 
all settlers a cordial welcome is extended by a people rarely equalled for wealth, 
intelligence and virtuous traits. 

" Baltimore butcliers concede that the beef from this county is among the best 
grass beef that comes to that market. The production of corn, wheat, rye, oats, 
buckwheat, grapes, barley and tobacco is equal to the best counties in the south- 
west." 

PULASKI COUNTY MINERALS AT THE NEW ORLEANS EXPOSITION. 

1. Limoniie, from Rich Hill mine of D. S. Forney, Capt. F. J. Chapman. 

2. Zinn Ore. from Bertha mine, Capt. F. J. Chapman. 

3. Blown Iron Ore., brilliant, from Rich Hill mine, Capt. C. R. Boyd. 

4. Anthracite Coal, from Belle Hampton Coal Company's mine in Brushy 
' mountain. 

The following from this county are contributed by the N. and W. and S. V. 
railroads : 

Iron Ore, from Radford furnace on Mack creek, one and one-eighth miles south 
of New river. 

Iron Ore, from "Johnson" bank of "Reed Island" furnace, one and a half 
miles south of New river. 

Iron Ore, from " Honaker" bank, one and a half miles southeast of Pulaski 
station. 

Iron Ore, from " Walton" mine furnace. 

ROANOKE 

was formed in 1838 from Botetourt. It is twenty miles long and about fifteen 
miles wide, antl contains 193.198 acres, assessed at $2,515,343. Populr.tion— 
white, 8,273; colored, 4,828; total, 13,101. The surface is undulating, and in 
parts mountainous, all of its boundaries being crests of mountain ranges, and the 
streams flowing from it run in various directions, some northeast into the James, 
while Roauok"^ river, the chief stream in the county, Hows southeast. 

Salem, the county seat, is prettily located on Roanoke river and the Norfolk 
and Western railroad. Roanoke, the south«^rn terminus of the Shenandoah 
Valley railroad, is one of the most prosperous towns in the Valley, and is an im- 
portant centre of trade and manufacturing industries, with large iron furnaces 



HAND-BOOK OP VIHGINIA. 133 

and tobacco factories. Within three or four years it has grown from a small 
village to a rown of six thousand inhabitants. 

The minerals of the county are iron ores in great abundance and parity, coal, 
ilate and limestone. There are several mineral springs, the waters of which are 
highly recommended. At Botetourt Springs is located HoUins Institute, a female 
school ol hi^h grade. 

The following is furnished by a correspondent : 

" This county embraces, from its southern to northern borders, all the form- 
ations, with their peculiar soils, from the granites to subcarboniferous, in great 
part, however, shale, limestone and alluvial — all of more than average fertility. 
Outside and nearer the mountains, belts of 'freestone,' rolling but adapted to 
culture and the production of certain crops. Prices for land range from $5 to $50, 

AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS. 

Wheat is the principal cereal, the yield being on the average, say fifteen 
bushels. On the best lands it reaches thirty to thirty-five bushels. Corn, tobacco 
and the grasses do well. We note a slow but steady improvement in the systems 
©f farming and fine results from attention to good handling. 

MINERAL PRODUCTS AND RESOURCES. 

These are iron, magnetic and hematites, in great abundance ; also the forms 
known as fossil, ferro-manganese, dyestone. Zinc has also been found, it is 
thought, in large measures. In the mineral belts the lands are very low-priced 
and offer fine fields for investment. 

TIMBER PRODUCTS. 

All the woods peculiar to central Virginia flourish here, and in the valley forests 
and the heavy growth on the mountains would seem to invite enterprises of all 
kini's in which good, cheap and abundant timber is used. 

SMALLER INDUSTRIES. 

Among those already inaugurated we note the cultivation of fruits. A large 
area of the southwestern part of the county is unequalled in the production of 
apples, especially the "Back Creek Pippin," being finer fruit than the celebrated 
" Newtown" pippins, and becoming almost as well known. The lands so produc- 
ing can be bought at low prices, and this hidustry can be pushed without exhaustion 
to far greater limits. 

MANUFACTORIES. 

Some more specially informed correspondent at Eoanoke could speak of the 
extent of and business of the large machine shops and of the iron furnace located 
there. In Salem we have an extensive steam planing establishment, iron foundry 
and chair maiiiifactory. Near Roanoke, the Moomaws have achieved an almost 
national reputation for the extent and good quality of their canned goods — 
pe^iclies, berries and vegetables. Near Salem, H. Garst has also a similar es- 
tabhshment, representing hundreds of tliousands of cans. 

EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES. 

In addition to an excellent public school organization, we have Roanoke College, 
an institution thirty-four years old, of high grade, and well known in all the 
Southern States especially. Annual attendance between 150 and 200. Also 
Ho'ilins Institute for youug ladies, a well equipped, well known, prosperous and 
popular school. 



134 HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 



ROADS. 

We note increasino; attention to laying out and improving county roads. In 
addition, a Mnca<5ainized road runs through the whole length of the county. The 
Norfolk and Western and the Shenandoah Valley railroads give excellent facilities 
for trade and communication. In addition, the Baltimore and Ohio has a branch 
graded to Salem, and will at an early day have it in running order from Lexing- 
ton, its present terminus, to Salem. A new railroad has also been located from 
Craig county to Roanoke, which will open up a splendid untouched mineral belt." 

The following is clipped from the November number of the Industrial South : 

ROANOKE, VmaiNIA. 

The following figures, from an article in a Northern paper, by Mr. Hinton A. 

Helper, shows a remarkable growth in this flourishing young city : 

Population in 1880, . . - . - 700 

Assessed valuation of property, - - - - $250,000 

Population in 1884, . , . - . 5,250 

Assessed valuation of property, - - - - $2,200,000 

Population in 1886, . - . . - 7,200 

Assessed valuation of property, - - - - $3,950,000 

From 1884 to 1886 there were built some 460 houses for business and residence 

purposes. The bonded debt of the city is $90,000, to show for which are the jail, 

market house, opera house, poor house, town hall, steam fire department and three 

school bouses. 

ROANOKE COUNTY MINERALS AT THE NEW ORLEANS EXPOSITION. 

From F. J. Chapman. 

1. Litnonite, cellular, brown iron ore, from Poor mountain mine, No. 3. 

2. Limonite, massive, brown iron ore, from Poor mountain mine, No.l. 

3. Limonite, clay iron ore, from Poor mountain mine. No. 4. 

4. Limonite, massive, black iron ore, from Starkey mine, No. 1. 

5. Limonite, cellular, brown iron ore, from Starkey mine. No. 2. 

6. Limonite, cellular, brown iron ore, from Hudson Shales, No. Ill, from North 
mountain. 

7. Eematiie, massive, red iron ore, from Catawba mountain, near Bland's. 

8. Hematite, massive, red iron ore, from middle ridge of Catawba mountain 
range, near preceding. 

9. Semi-Anthracite Coal, from Vespertine, No. X, bed in Catawba mountain, 
extending over twelve miles. 

10. An Old Miner's Sledge, found in Starkey mine, No. 4, where it has lain since 
1813, when old '' Back Creek " furnace was washed away. Cast directly from 
the furnace using the Starkey ore. 

11. Marl, tufaceous, from McCormick's on Catawba creek, six miles southwest 
from Roanoke Red Sulphur springs. 

12. Limonite, from Potsdam Shales, No. 1, from Iron Bluflf farm, three miles from 
Rorer Iron company's railroad. 

14. Roofing Slate, from Catawba valley. 

15. Stalactite, Lime Carbonate, from caverns near Roanoke Red Sulphur springs. 
This is from a recently discovered three-story- down cavern in North or Catawba 
mountain, which has in it rooms over 200 feet long and 100 feet high. 



HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 13& 

17. Limestone, No. II, from Catawba valley. 

18. Limestone, No. Ill, from near Salem. 

19. White Sandstone, Oneida, from Catawba mountain, five miles west from 
Salem. 

20. Purple Sandstone, Medina, from Catawba mountain, five miles west from 
Salem. 

21. Water, of Roanoke Red Sulphur springs, six bottles with analysis. 

22. Chalybeate Water, from Roanoke Red Sulphur springs. 

23. A Green Stone, resembMng serpentine, two varieties, from quarry of Dr. R» 
B. Hudson, four miles south from Roanoke city ; used extensively for sill?, caps, 
etc., in building, and for steps and curbs; soft and dresses easy when first quar- 
ried, but becomes hard and weathers well. 

2i. Brick Clay, and a raw and burnt brick, from brickyard of J. W. Earmon. 

ROCKBRIDGE, 

named from its most striking feature, the world-renowned "Natural Bridge,'* 
was formed from Augusta and Botetourt in 1778. It is thirty-one miles in length 
and twenty-two wide, and contains 397,622 acres, valued at $3,284,902. Popu- 
lation, 20,010— white, 14,607 ; colored, 5,343. 

The surface is rolling and in parts mountainous. The crest of the Blue Ridge 
forms its southeast boundary ; North mountain and Mill mountain are on the west 
border, and Little North mountain penetrates the northern part. 

The region lying between these mountain ranges is undulating and hilly, and 
has excellent soils, formed from limestone, producing fine crops of tobacco, grain 
and all the cultivated grasses. 

The elevated mountain sides are, to a large extent, arable, and are fine grazing^ 
lands. 

The timber is abundant, and of valuable kinds, as oak, hickory, chestnut, pine,, 
poplar, walnut, etc. 

The minerals and mineral waters of Rockbridge are varied and valuable, and 
consist of iron ore, tin ore.* arsenopyrite containing gold and silver, manganese, 
barytes, marble, gypsum and limestone, some of it hydraulic. 

The mineral springs of this county — the " Rockbridge Alum," "Jordan Alum,'* 
"Cold Sulphur," "Wilson's VVhite Sulphur," and " Rockbridge Baths "—have 
a wide celebrity, and are much resorted to for health and pleasure. 

Lexington, the county seat, a thriving town of nearly 4,000 people, is located 
on North river, near the centre of the county, and is the seat of the Virginia Mil- 
itary Institute, and Washington and Lee University, two eminent institutions of 
learning. 

The Natural Bridge in this county is reckoned as one of the world's wonders. 

North river fiows through the centre of the county, and empties into the James 
near the south border. 

* Recently tin lias been found on IrlsU creek, near Vesuvius station, S. V. K. K., very rich in 
yield and promising valuable results. It Is now in process of development. It assays from 29 to 
60 pure tin. Magneslan lime for hydraulic cement is found on the Glendale estate, and has for 
many years been made into cement at Bal;ony Falls, just below. It is also found on the North 
river, just above Balcony Falls, immediately on the 8. V. R. R. 

Glenwood furnace, near Gleuwood station, 1'^ out of blast. It is near very fine iron veins. The 
" Buena Vista" iron mines are near the R. & A. R. R., aud are exceptionally rich. No better site 
for an iron furnace can be found in Virginia than at or near Balcony Palls. The largest iron fur- 
nace in the State is " The Victoria " at Goshen, in this county. Its material is furnished from the 
mines near the Rock Bridge Alum Springs, by means of a branch railway. Its capacity is from 125 
o 150 tons a day. 



136 HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 

Transportation by rail is furnished by tlie Chesapeake and Ohio railroad on the 
north, the Valley Branch of the Baltimore and Ohio from its northeast border to 
Lexington, where it connects with a branch of the Eichmond and All<^ghany rail- 
road, the main stem of which runs for some distance through the southern border; 
and by the Shenandoah Valley railroad passing east tlirough the eastern and 
gouthern portion. 

Tourists find in this county some of the grandest scenery of the continent. Be- 
sides fhe Natural Bridge, above mentioned, "Balcony Fjills," where James river 
cuts its way through the Blue Ridge,^ and " Goshen Pass," on North river, 
have long been celebrated, and now that this region has become accessible, are 
daily drawing greater crowds. 

A correspondent in this county furnishes the following : 

"Water-power abounds in all parts of this county, some utilized, but vast 
power etill waiting capital for its further development. 

"Our farmers as a class, notwithstanding the low prices of farm productions, 
are prosperous. Wages from ten to fifteen dollars per month and plenty of 
laborers to be had. 

" Lands vary in price, according to location and other circumstances, from ten 
to fifty dollars per acre. 

" Some Pennsylvanians have purchased lands here, and others are loooking with 
a view of purchasing. We have as good a population as can be found in America ; 
churches and schools in every section. The people are refined and cultivated. 

"There are some mechanical enterprises also located here, which, although in 
their infancj',, promise to be important factors in building up and adding to the 
wealth of the place. 

"Upon the whole, after having visited the greater portion of the United States, 
north and south, I consider this the most desirable section of this country, pos- 
sessing more of the material elements of health, wealth, aud prosperity than 
any other country known to the writer/-" 

ROCKBRIDGE COUNTY MINERALS AT THE NEW ORLEANS EXPOSITION. 

1. Cement, from James River Cement Works, Balcony Falls station, Richmond 
and Allegnany railroad. 

2. Potsdam Sandstone, scolithus bed, formation No. 1, mouth of Norlh river of 
James. 

3. Limestone, from blufi" below Natural Bridge station, Richmond and Alle- 
ghany railroad. 

4-5. Iron Ores, from No. 7, and Bed Shale, from No. 5, from Guy Run iron 
lands of E. A. Parker. 

6. Tiifaceous Marl, deposit from Marl river, at Lyle's plow factory, near Midway. 

7. Limonite, Drown iron ore from upper shales of Potsdam No. 1, at Fultoa ore 
baijk. 

8. Limonite, brown iron ore, massive block, Donald bed in Uogn'ood hollow. 

The following sixteen specimens are from the cabinet of Dr. E. A. Gibbs, Lex- 
ington : 

9. Variegated Pink Marble. 
10. Limestone. 
il. Coraline Limestone. 
12. Gray Limedone, contains 97 per cent, of lime carbonate. 



HAND-BOOK OF VIEGINIA. 137 

13. LigM Gray Limestone, contains 96 to 98 per cent, of lime carbonate. 

14. Blue Limestone, marble, from near Natural Bridge. 

15. Black Marble, from near Lexington. 

16. Black Marble, from near Goshen. 

17. Yellow Variegated Marble. 

18. Brown Marble. 

19. Stalactitic Marble, found in laVge masses. 

20. Yellow Stalactitic Variegated Marble, near Rockbridge Baths. 

21. Variegated Marble, from Thompkin's. 

22. Black Marble, from Steel's, 

23. Bed Shale Iron Ore, from lauds of Echols, Bell & Catlett, Staunton. 

24. Limonite, from "Pridley " mine, of tlie above firm. 

The following are from collection of Prof. J. L. Campbell, Lexington : 

25. Limonite Iron Ore, fibrous, from Graham's bed on Irish creek. 

26. Limonite, massive, from same locality as above. 

27. Limonite, massive, frcm "Echols " mine, near Balcony Falls. 
28; Limonite, fibroup, from same locality. 

29. Limonite, massive, from Victoria furnace mines, near Rockbridge Alum 
Springs. 

30. Limonite, from same locality as above. 

31. Limonite, fibrous and radiated, from Glenwood mines, Western Blue Ridge, 

32. Baryta, from near Lexington. 

33. Dufrenite, hydrated phosphate of iron, fibrous, divergent ; from Blue Ridge 
(South mountain), Irish creek region, 12 miles east from Lexington. This 13 the 
only locality of this mineral, so far as known, in any of the Southern States. 

34. Dufrenite, nodular, radiated ; from same locality as above. 

35. Dufrenite, incrustation with concentric layers ; from same place as above. 

36. Cassiterite, tin ore, massive ; from Irish creek region of Blue Ridge. 

37. Tin Ore, cross section of crystaUne vein ; from same place as above. 

38. Tin Ore, group of crystals in gangue of quartz and yellow mica ; from same 
as above. 

39. Gray Coraline Marble, from near Lexington ; dressed and polished by Mr. 
John Hiieman. 

40. Ochre, from outcrop of cement limestone on James river. 

41. Magnetic Iron Ore, occurs in large amounts at Robert Grant's, on Irish 
creek. 

42. Eomblendic Granite, occurs on Tye River Gay road, on west side of Blue 
Ridge. 

43. Brown Hematite Iron Ore, from " Carson ore beds " of J. E. A. Gibbs, of 
Raphine. 

44. Glass Sand, from Potsdam, near Balcony Falls, from Vu-ginia Department 
of Agriculture. 

45. Manganese, from Gay Run iron lands of E. A. Packer, of New York city. 

46. Paints, a number of colors, from ochres, &c., mica, and made by H. Lerna, 
of Goshen. 

47. Cassiterite, from " Mt. Maria " mine, on Irish creek, belonging to Robert- 
son & Grant. Major A. D. Robertson writes us that this ore is from a nearly ver- 
tical vein, about 2^ thick, opened at 3 or 4 points, and drifted in by tunnel 80^ 
long. It yields 3J per cent, of metallic tin. Seventeen other veins have beea 

9 



138 HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 

opened, and the existence of others is known. This tin ore has been found over 
an area of seven miles in length by one mile wide. 

48. Tin Ore cassiterite, 200 pounds, from mine of Mrs. Martha D. Cash, Irish 
creek post-ofBce. This is from the same veins and region as the " Mt. Maria " ore 
above described. 

The following from exhibit of N. and W. and S. V. railroads : 

Iron Ore, from " Cash " mines, on Irish creek, 8 miles southeast from Vesuvius 
station, S. V. R. R. 

Tin Ore, from " Buena Vista " mines, on S. V. R. R., Capt. C. F. Jordan, man> 
ager. 

ROCKINGHAM 

was formed from Augusta in 1778, and has an area rather greater than that of the 
parent county. It contains 1,079 square miles, or 696,059 acres, so that it is the 
largest county in the State, and is second among the Valley counties in popula- 
tion, having 29,567 inhabitants; white, 26,133; colored, 3,434. Although there i& 
much waste mountain land in Rockingham, the average assessed value of the 
whole is over $10 per acre, or a total of $7,824,593. 

Every part of this county is watered by the Shenandoah and its numerous tribu- 
taries, and there is a large extent of rich meadow land. 

Rockingham is one of the largest grain producing counties in the State, and 
exports large quantities of flour, which has a high reputation in the Eastern 
markets. All the cereals thrive here, not only those cultivated generally, but 
buckwiieat and barley. And this is peculiarly a grass and cattle region, and a 
county of fine horses. Great numbers of choice cattle and horses are shipped 
from Rockingham to the Northern States. 

The mineral wealth of this county is considerable— iron, copper, lead and coal. 
Limestone is everywhere. Several varieties of marble are found here. 

There are mineral waters of great virtue in Rockingham, the most resorted to 
being the celebrated "Rawley Springs," eleven miles from Harrisonburg. 

Two great lines of railroad pass through this county— the Valley Branch of the 
Baltimore and Ohio and the " Shenandoah Valley " road. These give excellent 
facilities for marketing the rich products — agricultural and mineral — of the county, 
and will rapidly attract immigration to this beautiful Valley. 

There is also a narrow gauge railroad from Harrisonburg to Elkton, connecting 
the two main lines, and facilitating communication between the diflferent parts of 
the county. 

Harrisonburg, the county seat, on the Valley branch of the Baltimore and Ohio, 
is a growing town of near four thousand inhabitants — the centre of trade of this 
rich county, 

A correspondent from Rockingham writes as follows : 

"Whilst our county has made rapid progress in improving and bettering the 
farm and its stock, there has been no new developments of such importance as to 
be worthy of special notice in your forthcoming Hand- Book. No new minerals 
have been discovered or mines opened. The Bridgewater woolen factory has 
recently doubled its former capacity, and is now running day and night with about 
60 hands, filling orders for their goods — especially blankets — from Chicago, St. 
Louis and Cincinnati, as well as from the northeastern cities. They are unable to 
supply half the demand for their goods. 

" The presen t vear has brought us the most bountiful harvest ever known. The 



HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 139 

wheat crop is estimated by competent judges at 1,000,000 bushels. Aa immense 
corn crop is now assured, and general prosperity seems to have come over our 
county. The land is teeming with abundance. 

" Great interest is taken in our public schools as well as in the higher education, 
and I believe that Rockingham stands at the very head, both as to the number 
and character of her schools. 

" Our principal county town, Harrisonburg, i$ improving rapidly, keeping pace 
with the general prosperity of the county. The new United States courthouse is 
nearly completed and Is an ornament to the town. 

" Several of our prominent farmei'S are developing quite an interest among our 
people in improved stock, especially of horses and cattle. Improved stocks of 
cows and horned cattle are general among our laigest stock-raisers. Ours is 
almost exclusively an agricultural and stock producing county, and is fully abreast 
of the times in improving these two important sources of wealth. 

"Farms are made smaller and better cultivated; dwellings, barns, &c., are 
being built or improved and beautified all over the county. Notwithstanding last 
•year's crop failure, we are moving forward under the inspiration of the abundance 
of the present year's crops." 

ROCKINGHAM COUNTY MINERALS AT THE NEW ORLEANS EXPOSITION. 

From Professor Fontaine. 

1. Diorite, occurs in an eruptive dyke 200 feet wide near top of Blue Ridge. 

2. Epidotic Jasper^ from ledge eight feet wide, in Chlorite-Schist, at Swift Run 
Gap. 

Syenite, occurs in immense quantities in the Blue Ridge on Swift Run Gap road . 

The following from the U. S. Assistant Commissioner, Major Jed. Hotchkiss : 

4. Case of Chalybeate Water, from Rawley Springs. 

5. Galena (lead sulphuret), from Daniel Showalter's farm, near Chrisman post- 
office. 

The following were contributed by Mr. C. D. Harnsberger, from western base 
of the Blue Ridge : 

6. Two samples Iron Ore, Limonite, from the Potsdam, No. 1, from the Miller 
bank of the Mt. Vernon Iron property, near Weyer's Cave station, S. V. R. R. 

7. Limonite Iron Ore, from "Raines"' ore bank of Abbott Iron Company, 
three miles northeast from Port Republic station, S. V. R. R. 

8. Iron Ore, Limonite, from " Weaver " bank, near 120 mile-post of S. V. R. R., 
Abbott Iron Company. 

9. Iron Ore, Limonite, from " Sipe " bank of Abbott Iron Company, near same 
point, 

10. Ochre, Hamilton"* a Paint, from near Keezletown, from Virginia Department 
of Agriculture. 

11. Kaolin, from Mrs. J. J. Wood's, from Virginia Department of Agriculture. 

12. Trap Rock, locaUy called " Ironstone,^'' from a dyke 40 to 50 feet wide, near 
the Augusta line, two miles southwest from Port Republic, near Leroy village. 

This particular block of trap, two and a half feet long, two feet wide, and two 
leet high, is an historic one, as it is the block that was used as an " anvil block," 



140 HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 

for a tilt-hammer in the blacksmith shop of Selah Holbrook, at Pork Republic, 
and on the anvil that was morticed into this block Selah Holbrook and his son, J. 
H. Holbrook, in 1843, made the sickles for Cyrus McCormick, that were used in 
the first McCormick reaper or harvester. Loaned by C. D. Hamsberger, the 
owner of it, Port Republic, Va. 

SHENANDOAH, 

was formed in 1772 from Frederick. It contains 332,882 acres, valued at $3,843,- 
749. Population, 18,204 ; wliite, 17,198 ; colored, 1,006. The surface is rolling, 
with mountains and many valleys of great beauty and fertility — a very large pro- 
portion of the county being of the best class of valley land — disintegrated lime- 
stone — a strong and durable soil, admirably adapted to all the cereals and grasses 
of the climate. In Shenandoah are some of the finest farms in the State, and live 
farmers who know the value of improved stock, and vie with each other and with 
those of the adjoining counties for the production of the best. Farms sell for $30 
to $100 per acre. The uplands are fine for grazing, being natural blue-grass land. 
Labor is plenty. Wages fifty to seventy-five cents per day. 

The north fork of Shenandoah river traverses the entire length of this county, 
abundantly watering it, and giving power for manufacturing purposes. The val- 
ley of this river cannot be excelled for the beauty and fertility of its lands. The 
Valley Branch of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad runs the entire length of this 
county from northeast to southwest, its line being of convenient access from all 
parts of the county. 

The minerals found here are iron ore, coal, manganese, galena, antimony, mar- 
ble and limestone. Very little developed as yet. The "Columbia " and "Lib- 
erty " furnaces in this county make A No. 1 pig iron. At Edinburg a large agri- 
cultural implement factory has been organized. 

Much of the wheat raised here is exported in the shape of flour, which has a 
high reputation. 

Among the attractions of this county should be mentioned the "Orkney 
Springs," a place of great resort for health and pleasure seekers from other States 
and all parts of Virginia. The Shenandoah Alum and Burners' White Sulphur 
Springs are also in this county, besides many fine mineral springs on the farms. 

SHENANDOAH COUNTY MINERALS AT THE NEW ORLEANS EXPOSITION. 

1. Limonite and other Iron Ores, mainly from No. V, Limestone No. VI, Lower 

Helderberg ; charcoal pig iron, &c., from mines of Columbia and Liberty fur- 
naces of Columbia-Liberty Iron Company, in North mountain, on Stony creek, 
west side of " The Valley," W. D. Pollard contributor. 

2. Limonite and other Iron Ores, mainly from No. V, Limestones No. V, char- 
coal pig iron of various gi-ades ; sandstones, from Dr. Frank King, Van Buren 
furnace. Cedar Creek Valley. 

3. Iron Ores, Limestonts, Sfc, from Henrietta furnace, head of Stony creek, 
west of Little North mountain, Mrs. A. J. Myers, 

Tlie following were collected for the Virginia Midland railway by M. W. G. 
Douglas : 

1. Manganese, from Powell's Fort M. Co., near Water Lick station. 

2. Iron Ore, from same company and locality as above. 

3. Calcareous Tufa, or Travertine Marl, one mile from Strasburg. 



HAND-BOOK OF VIEGINIA. 141 

The following are from the furnace property of Mrs. A. J. Myers, Shenandoah 
Alum Springs post-office: 

3. Iron Ore^ from Powder Spring bank. 

4. Iron Ore, from Open bank on Iron Hill. 

5. Iron Ore, from extensive outcrop near furnace stack. 

6. Limestone, from near furnace. 

7. Fire Clay and Brick, from same. 

8. Shales and other Rocks, from vicinity of furnace. 

9. Shenandoah Alum Water, claimed to be best of its class. 
10. Sulphur Iron Water. 

13. Chalybeate Water. 

15. Lithia- Sulphur Water. 

15. Alum Shale, from which the above alum water flows. All these waters are 
from a circle of three hundred yards, and Mrs. Myers claims it as the greatest 
variety of mineral waters of medicinal value form one locality. 

10. Iron Ore, from David Neff, from "Virginia Department of Agriculture. 

11. Calc-Spar, from George J. Grandstaff, of Edinburg, from Virginia Depart- 
ment of Agriculture, 

SMYTH 

was formed in 1831 from Washington and Wythe. It is in the form of a parallel- 
ogram with two of its sides about thirty miles in length, and contains 305,922 
acres of land, assessed for taxes at $1,662,424. Population, 12,160— white, 10,520 ; 
colored, 1,640. 

It has on the north Clinch mountain. Poor Valley mountain, Walker's moun- 
tain and Brush mnuntain, while Iron mountain forms its southeastern boundary. 
These ranges have courses parallel with each other northeast to southwest, and 
are separated by valleys of fine farming and grazing lands. 

The productions are tobacco, corn, wheat, oats, rye, b^uckwheat, grass and fat 
cattle. Tobac'co culture in this and the adjoining counties has been rapidly de- 
veloped in the last few years. Briglit tobacco of the finest quality is now grown 
in this region, and the planter ha« learned to handle it so as to get the top market 
prices. The mountain lands produce spontaneously the finest blue grass, and so 
it follows that this is an admirable stock country. 

Timber is abundant and of the valuable kinds common to this section of the 
State. 

The climate is a delightful one in the summer, and is very healthy. 

There is no town of importance except Marion, the county seat, which is a 
beautiful and busy town on the line of the Norfolk and Western railroad. The 
Norfolk and Western railroad crosses this county about the centre, and haa 
Marion, the county seat, as one of its stations. 

Smyth is drained by the three forks of the Holston river, giving it abundant 
water power for all kinds of manufacturing purposes. 

The minerals of this county include iron ore, lead ore, copper ore, gypsum, 
salt and marble. These minerals are in great abundance and some of them are 
being extenf^ively developed. 

SMYTH COUNTY MINERAIiS AT THE NEW OKLEANS EXPOSITION. 

1. Eed Iron Ore, from six-foot bed many miles long, head of Coma creek, on 
Smyth and Grayson line ; from Capt. C. R. Boyd. 

2. Marble, from Hezekiah Harman's land ; from Capt. C. R. Boyd. 



142 HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 

The following were collected by Mr. James H. Gilmore, of Marion : 

3. Iron Ore, from the lands of Thomas E, Gardiner. 

4. Iron Ore, from the lands of M. B. Tate. 

5. Iron Ore, from the lands of John M. Preston. 

6. Barytes, two samples, from the land of G. C. Goodell. 

7. Soapstone, from the land of A. G. Pendleton. 

8. Gypsum, plaster, from the land of J. H. Buchanan. 

9. Brown Hematite Iron Ore, occurs in large amounts west of Marion ; from 
Prof. Fontaine. 

WARREN 

was formed in 1837 from Frederick and Shenandoah. It is twenty miles long and 
twelve miles ia width, and contains 121,787 acres of land, valued of $1,386,227. 
Population, 7,399 — white, 5,958 ; colored, 1,441. 

rt lies on the western solpe of the Blue Ridge, and has Three-Top mountain on 
its western border. The south folliof Shenandoah river passes through its centre. 

The surface varies from intervales and gently sloping hills to steep mountain 
declivities. 

The soil is in general excellent — formed from disintegrated limestone, and (in 
places) from epidotes and hornblende, and produces excellent crops of corn, oats, 
rye, wheat, buckwheat and grass, and much care and attention is devoted to 
fruit- raising. Grape culture especially has been extensively and successfully car- 
ried on for many years, the epidote lands in the vicinity of the beautiful village, 
"Front Royal," being admirably adapted to the growth of the choicest varieties 
of the vine. One of the oldest and largest vinej^ards in the south is located here. 

Stock-raising forms one of the most important industries. Large numbers of 
fat cattle are annually sent to market. 

The transportation faciiities are excellent, and are f urnished^by the Shenandoah 
Valley railroad passing from north to south through the centre, and the Manassas 
Branch of the Virginia Mi Hand railroad, crossing it from east to west, also the 
Valley Branch of the Baltimore and Ohio running near the west line for ten miles. 

This is a most highly favored and desirable region, enjoying a delightful climate 
and having all the accessories for prosperity and pleasant living. There are 
numerous mineral springs ; the streams teem with good fish, and much game is 
still found. 

Front Royal is a prosperous town of 1,600 inhabitants, three large hotels, with 
twenty-odd stores, two banks, and several factories. Lands are worth from five 
to ten dollars per acre — good turnpikes and county roads, fine schools, and all 
needed is plenty of capital to develop the mines and improve the waste places. 

The minerals are iron ore, copper, ochre, umber and limestone, of which the 
following specimens were on exhibition at the New Orleans Exposition : 

Umber and Ochre, from Salina and other banks near Overall station. 
Iron Ore, from " Happy Creek Mining Company," one mile from Happy Creek 
station. 
Limonite Iron Ore, from "Iron Mountain Mine," of Mavis & Reynolds. 
Limestone, from quarry of Carson & Sons, burned extensively. 



'hand BOOK OF VIEGINIA, 143 



WASHINGTON. 

Population, 25,203— white, 21,113; colored, 4,090, Contains 382,232 acres, 
assessed at $3,235,676. 

This is one of the finest counties of the southwestern part of the State. It lies 
on the Tennessee border, and is bounded on the northwest by Clinch mountain, 
and on the southeast by the Blue Kidge. It is watered by the three forks of the 
Holston river, which pass through its length, and, with their tributaries, furnish 
abundant power for mills and factories. 

The surface is rolling in its central parts and quite rugged on its mountain bor- 
ders. The soil is a rich limestone, producing fine crops of tobacco, the cereals 
ani grasses.* Cattle, horses and sheep are reared and fattened in great numbers. 

This county is rich in minerals. On the west slope of the Blue Kidge are large 
deposits of a semi-magnetic iron ore, free from phosphorus and containing 69.74 
of metallic iron. On Clinch mountain are found continuous beds of fossil ore. 
Lead and zinc ores, salt and plaster are also found in this county. " The Holston 
Salt and Plaster Company," at Saltville, are now producing annually 800,000 
bushels of salt, and this company, together with the " Beuna Vista Plaster Com- 
pany," produce 6,000 tons of plaster yearly. The salt wells at this place have 
the strongest brine known, and that, as well as the gypsum veins, are inexhausti- 
ble, and extend many miles into the adjacent county of Smyth. 

The climate of this region cannot be excelled for health and pleasantness, as is 
evidenced by the large stature and robust appearance of the people. 

Abingdon, the chief town, has a population of over 2,500, and is a centre of 
refinement and culture. It has two female colleges and a fine courthouse, in 
which is held not only the county and circuit courts of the State, but the circuit 
court of the Federal Government for the Western District of Virginia. 

Bristol, jast on the countj^ line, contains about 4,000 inhabitants, and is the 
western terminus of the Norfolk and Western railroad, which traverses the county 
centrally. There is a branch of this road from Glade Spring to Saltville, near the 
-Smyth county line. 

The following is from a valued correspondent : 

''The soil is adapted to almost all kinds of grain, and is susceptible of indefinite 
improvement; although it now yields from 25 to 75 bushels of corn to the acre, 
and wheat 15 to 35, yet, by proper culture this might be very nearly doubled, and 
the grasses of all kinis are produced in the greatest abundance at the rate of from 
one to three tons to the acre, that is, of such as timothy, clover and orchard grass. 
Other grasses are more adapted to pasturing and are never so heavy, but are such as 
fatten stock rapidly and grow in great luxuriance. No county produces finer 
timothy and clover. 

•' On the northeast border there are beds of salt and plaster which will probably 
not be exhausted for ages to come. Mineral springs and mineral water of all 
kinds are abundant all over the county — sulphur, alum, chalybeate, &c. 

"There is water-power enough in the county of Washhigton to exclude all 
steam-power or the necessity of it, except for transportation, for all kinds, 



* A correspondent, la reply to an Interrogatory, says Washington county produced about 2,000,- 
000 pounds tobacco in 1884. The great bulk of the crop in this section is bright ; generally of good 
body and excellent texture. Being grown on new lands, it is remarkably free from dirt aud is very 
sweet. The bright crops of 1884 have averaged so far, at public sale in warehouses in Abingdon, 
from $10 to $25. The bright crop of 1883, averaged from $10 to $45. Our best tobacco is raised on. 
freestone lands ; yet we have some very flue crops from limestone. 



144 HAND-BOOK OP VIEGINIA. 

from the turning of a grindstone up to the running of cotton factories with their- 
thousands of spindles ; and we have some of the hest mill sites to be found, where 
nature has done everything but build the mills, and what a pity we have not 
the enterprise to have better mills. We want men and mechanics and a well 
organized system of I.ibor — with such, no county could surpass our Washington. 
'The harvest is great and the (right kind of) laborers are scarce.' Common labor 
commands from 50 cents to $1 per day, skilled labor, mechanics, from $2 to $4. 

"The roads and road system is fast improving; railroads, in addition to those 
now In operation, are in process of building, and the county will soon be checked 
with good roads of all kinds. 

" The school system is well established, and facilities for a common education 
or a collegiate course are here found convenient, accessible and cheap for all, and 
none may remain ignorant and uneducated. 

"No county under the pun is more healthy ; this is really the jplace of refuge- 
for the Southern invalid or the city dyspeptic and may really be called the garden 
spot of Virginia." 

WASHINGTON COUNTY MINERALS AT THE NEW ORLEANS EXPOSITION. 

From Capt. C. R. Boyd. 

1. Iron Ore^ semi-magnetic, from Gallaher mine. 

2. Mineral Water,, and "iron and alum mass," from Seven Springs. 

From Gen. J. D. Imboden. 

3. Limestone^ highly fossiliferous, S" cube, from north fork of Holston, at Men- 
dota. 

4. Grindstone^ 15" by 4:Y\ from a surface sample, from mouth of Whetston* 
branch of Wolf creek. 

5. Red Calcareous Mock, very hard, fine building stone, from stratum over 30^ 
thick, near Menrlota. 

6. Limestone, Valley or No. II, from one mile west from G<x)dson. 

7. JBarytes, from Virginia Department of Agriculture. 

The following are contributed by W. K. Armistead, of Abingdon : 

8. Plaster, sulphate of lime, one box from near Saltville. 

9. Iron Ore, semi magnetic, from Gallaher mine, near N. & W, R. R., five miler 
northeast from Abingdon. 

10. Iron Ore, red, from Rickets' mine. 

11. Iron Ore, red, from Gallaher mine. 

12. Iron Ore, red, from Gray mine. South Fork of Holston river. 

13. Iron Ore, fossil, dvesione, from Big Moccason Gap of Clinch mountain. 

14. Brown Iron Ore, Ori-^kany, from Clinch mountain. 

15. Brown Iron Ore, from Potsdam s))ales. 

16. Brown Iron Ore. from Silurian shales of Iron mountain. 

17. Manganese^ black oxide, from Potsdam shales of Iron mountain. 

WYTHE 

was formed in 1790 from Montgomery. Contains 327,075 acres, valued at. 
$3,053,508. Population, 14 314; white, 11,464; colored, 2,850. 

This county is an elevated mountain region, with three fertile valleys between 
the mountain ranges, which traverse it mainly from northeast to southwest. The 



HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 145 

soil in these valleys is very productive, aud gives abundant returns in large crops 
of grain, hay, and fine pasturage for cattle. 

The mountains are rugged and broken, but they are filled with abundant stores 
of mineral wealth ; and are clothed with finely grown trees of various kinds- 
oak, hickory, chestnut, ash, pine, lind, maple and walnut. 

Wythe is drained by New river and many of its tributaries which arise among 
lofty mountaias, and, being fed by bold and constant springs, liave abundant fall 
and volume during the driest seasons, aflfording vast amounts of water-power for 
mills and factories. 

The Norfolk and Western railroad runs through the centre of this county, and 
has a branch road leading from Martin's station in Pulaski, into the great mining 
region in the southeast part of Wythe. 

The minerals found in this county are immense in amount and value, and com- 
prise iron ores, zinc ores, lead ores, manganese, barytes, asbestos, coal, marble, 
soapstone, gypsum and kaolin. These mSnerals have been developed and proven 
to exist in immense deposits, and are now being largely worked. There are in 
operation many blast furnaces, forges, smelting works and rolling mills. 

Wytheville, the chief town and county-seat of Wythe, is a beautiful and flourish- 
ing place, possessing many attractions and solid advantages. Its healthful and 
bracing climate has caused it to become a great place of summer resort for south- 
erners and lowlanders— and it is the central town of a great mineral region, and 
a fine pastoral and farming country as well. Population, 3,000. 

A correspondent writes : 

"In addition to what is said in the Hand-Book of Virginia please permit me to 
add the price of farm lands — from $15 to $100 per acre, and should average about 
$30 per acre for farm laudg. 

"The average is 400 acres to the farm, and there is not an acre in good tilth in 
the county but will set itself into Kentucky blue grass and white clover. All cul- 
tivated clovers and grasses do well here, and the highest hills will produce as good 
hay, and when in tilth nearly as much as creek and river bottoms — one and a half 
to three tons per acre. Grain— corn on sod, 30 to 80 bushels pi-r acre, average 40 
bushels ; wheat on same, 18 to 22 bu-shels ; on stubble, 10 to 12 ; rye, a little better 
yield; oats, not so sure as on freestone of the same tilth. Garden vegetables of 
all kinds in abundance. All lands in the county in good tilth will produce a large 
heavy tobacco crop, but it grows too heavy ; this is why not more is raised in this 
county. Fruits of all kinds in abundance — cultivated and wild. 

" Thirteen charcoal iron furnaces in t his county, all working on the New river and 
Cripple creek brown hematite ores, making No. 1 car-wheel iron, boiler-plates, 
bar iron and steel. The ores run 53 to 57 per cent. iron. We also claim that with 
coke we can produce this same iron at $11 per ton, and this statement has not been 
denied by iron men, when on the grounds to see for themrielves. The Norfolk 
and Western railroad extension, when finished, up New liver and Cripple creek 
will bring the Pocahontas coal direct to each furnace on the line through thi& 
county, and over a standard gauge, first-class railroad, well ballasted and equipped^ 
Limestone of the best quality for fl ux at all the furnaces. 

"We invite all, and especially our New En;>;land friends, to bring their families 
and come down and pay us a visit and s ee for themselves. We invite you as one 
family to come and settle and make your permanent homes with us. We also ex- 
tend the same invitation to people in other lands who wiU be pleased to bring their 
capital and settle with us. I have many personal friends in New and Old England 
that are in the iron, zinc and lead business, and I refer you to the great and well 



146 HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA.. 

known iron and steel man, Jacob Reese, Esq., of Pittsburg, Pa., as to the grade 
And value of our Cripple creek iron ores." 

WYTHE COUNTY MINERALS AT THE NEW ORLEANS EXPOSITION. 
From F. J. Chapinan. 

I. Limonite, Brown Iron Ore, from Walton furnace. 
2 Limonite, from Van Liew furnace mine. 

3. Li'monite, from Graham Furnace mine. 

4. Limon'te, from Frank Smith mine, near Boom furnace. 

5. Limonite, from Boom furnace mine. 
G. Limonite, from Pierce furnace mine. 

Tiie following from C'apt. C. R. Boyd : 

7. A Series of Lead, zinc, iron and birytes ores, illustrating Boyd's sections at 
Wytli<> Lead and Zinc mines, and at Ivanhoe furnace of Hendricks Bros. 

8. Zinc Ores, from Falling OlifT mine, of D. S. Forney & Co. 

9. Brown Iron Ores and Turgite, from Irondale, Slaughter, Dunn & Co., Ra- 
vensclilf and Speedwell deposits, Cripple creek basin, from beds 20^ to 120^ thick. 

10. Fig Metal, from Ivanhoe Furnace of Hendricks Bros. Stands breaking 
strain of 41,000 pounds. 

II. Copper Pyrites, from southern spurs of Lick mountain, containing 30 per 
cent, copper. 

12. Potsdam Sandstone, from Scolithus bed. Lick mountain, near Wytheville. 

13. Brown Oxide of Iron and Manganese Oxide, from 20^ bed of W. A. Stuart's 
15,000 acre tract. Lick mountain. 

14. Bed Iron Ore, Bemi-magnetic from 9'* bed of Frank Blair, near Wytheville. 

15. Brown Iron Ore, from Robert Crockett's lands, southern spur of Little 
Walker mountain, in No. X. Ore contains 50 per cent, metallic iron, and 0.80 of 
phosphorus. 

16. Kidney, or Hollow Iron Ore, black band, from outcrop 18^^ thick, in No. X, 
irom Stony Fork. 

17. Bituminous Coal of I^o. X, from Stony Fork. 

18. Coke, made from the above coal. 

19. Red and Brown Iron Ores, from black slates of No. Vllf, from southern 
foot of Big Walker mountain. 

20. Clay Iro7i Ore, from base of black slates of No. VIII 

21. Flmt, from upper Helderberg, showing zinc blende, from south foot of Big 
Walker mountain. 

22. Brown Oxide of Iron, from 18' of No. VIII, Oriskany, south slope of Big 
Walker mountain. 

23. Brown Iron Ore, from No. VIT, Oriskany, from lauds of Boyd, Stearns & 
Co., Walkt'i- mountain. 

24. Brown Shale Iron Ores, of No. V, from same locality as above. 

25. Bed Shale Iron Ores, of No. V, from same locality as above. 

26. Fossils, Spirifers, Sfc., from No. IX, from Crockett Cove, Little Walker 
mountain. 

27. Fossil Coal Plants, from proto-carboniferous rocks, No. X, Stony Fork. 
38. Variegated Marble, from lands of Umbarger and others, near Wytheville. 
29. Limestone. 



HAND-BOOK OF VIEGINIA. 147 

30. Limestone, No. II. 

31. Calcium Fluoride, fluor spar, from Eed creek, three miles west from Wythe- 
ville. 

33. Mineral Water, from Wytheville. 

33. Grindstone Rock, from base of No. X, Stony Fork of Reed creek. 

34. Whetstone Bock, from No. IX, Old Red Sandstone Series, from Stony Fork. 

35. Fine Hone Grit, from lands of Boyd, Stearns and others, south slope of Big 
Walker mountain ; said to be equal in quality to the Scotch. 

36. Manganese Oxide, from Crawford's. 

37. Sandstone, with scolithus linearis, from Lick mountain ranfije, largely used 
for backing and hearthstone in blast furaaces. 

38. Sandstone, for glass making, from Lick mountain lands of Stuart and others. 

39. Lead Sulphuret, from lands of Mr. Price, near Ivanhoe furnace, New river 
region. 

40. Iron Ore, from lands of Lobdel Car Wheel Company ; from northern out- 
crop of Cripple creek. 

41. Iron Ore, brown, from Simmerman's, Cripple creek region. 

The following are from Old Poplar Camp furnace, in the gap of Poplar Camp 
mountain, contributed by A. N. Chaffee, owner of the furnace property : 

42. Iron Ore, from Potsdam shales. 

43. Sandstone, Potsdam. 

44. Limestone, formerly used in Poplar Camp furnace. 

From Virginia Department of Agriculture. 

45. Oilstone, from Little Walker mountain. 

46. Ochrous Silicate, from Sayers, New river, mouth of Reed creek. 

47. Manganese, from Gay Run Iron lands of E. A. Packer, of New York. 



148 HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 



BLUE RIDGE DIVISION OR NEW RIVER PLATEAU. 



This elevated plateau, situated between tlie two widely diverging limbs of the 
bifurcation of the Blue Ridge, presents many features of high interest alike to 
the geologist and the practical miner. All of its ledges and bands of rock 
strata, its numerous deposits of ores and minerals, and its system of drainage, 
seem to have been projected on a scale of superior proportions. Its elevation 
above tide, of about 2,600 feet average, secures for it perfect immunity from 
malarial diseases, and its high mountains, wooded to the summit, bring the rains 
in due season ; so that, with greater facilities of transportation once secured to it, 
they will become a most formidable competitor with all other divisions as a factor 
in solving the question of the State's prosperity. 

As heretofore stated, the plateau of the Blue Ridge is composed of the three 
counties — Floyd, Carroll and Grayson. They are separated from the Valley 
Division by the westerly bifurcation of the Blue Ridge, under the names of Pilot 
mountain. Poplar Camp and Iron mountains, and from Piedmont by the eastern 
limb of that bifurcation. 

In the absence of lines of railway transportation, by which the superior beds 
and deposits of valuable ore would be developed, these counties now send to 
market from their naturally fine soil, herds of fine, healthy cattle, flocks of sheep, 
much high-priced tobacco, wheat, dried fruit, herbs, etc., and some of the finest 
apples produced in Virginia. This freestone soil — that is, the soil resulting from 
a decomposition in situ of extensive bands of granitoid rocks, gneiss, hornblende, 
aluminous slates, shales, feldspars, etc., in fact, all the wide range of silicates of 
alumina, potash, lime, soda, iron, etc. — seems, at this elevation of over 2,000 feet 
kbove tide, and in latitude 30° 40\ to be the home of the apple, pear, peach, plum, 
and other fruits, in a sense that means perfection in the fruit and unfailing crops, 
year after year, with the possible exception of the peach. Should railway trans- 
portation at last be supplied these counties, in order to develop their mineral re- 
sources, one of the first efi'ects resulting would be the great stimulus given to 
the increased production of fruits and fine tobacco. The ores and minerals of 
greatest value in these systems of rocks — between the azoic, on the south margin, 
and the Huronian, on the north — are magnetic specular and brown ores of iron, 
sulphuretted ores of iron and copper, lead and zinc, manganese, gold and silver, 
nickel, mica, asbestos, granite, syenite, gneiss, steatite, baryta, feldspar, and pot- 
ters' and fire brick clays, quartz, etc. 

Beginning in Floyd and proceeding southwest, gold is found on Laurel creek ; 
magnetic iron ore shows in a band two miles south of Floyd courthouse ; at Ton- 
cray copper mine four feet thick, and now and then throughout the range on the 
south side of Carroll and Grayson. Another great line of magnetites, commenc- 
ing south of the gold belt in Floyd, and proceeding southwest near the great cop- 



HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 149 

per veins of Carroll, becomes of high commercial importance in Grayson, both 
from its meilsures and great purity. 

Two miles north of Old Town, in Grayson, and then south of Independence, 
near New river, and where the same ledges pass out southwest below the mouth 
of Wilson, in Grayson, these magnetites are quite valuable and extensive. Near 
these are occasional bodies of specular iron ores. 

The copper ores, conibir.ed with sulphurets, are in large quantity at Toncray 
and other mines in Floyd, as oxides, carbonates and sulphurets, on what is famil- 
iarly known as the southern lode ; then northwardly towards Laurel and Brush 
creeks, the sulphuretted lodes of copper and iron, which become so extensive iu 
Carroll, seem to make some surface exhibits. 

In Carroll county, on a line north of the courthouse, these great copper de- 
posits, running northeast and southwest, are fully twenty miles in length, in veins 
over twenty-six feet thick, dipping southeast and frequently assuming a thick- 
ness above sixty feet, and sometimes 150 feet between floor and roof — generally 
this floor and roof is talco — micaceous slate, interspersed now and then with 
quartz. This deposit continues on southwest through Grayson, along a line near 
Old Town and New river, and passes on toward Ducktown. 

Close analyses of these sulphuretted ores show them to average from 1.70 to 5 
per cent, of copper, 40 to 46 per cent, of sulphur, and about 50 per cent, of iron. 
Their decomposition down to about forty-five feet below the surface has left large 
quantities of limonite on the surface, by which the veins are easily traced ; down 
in the deposits, just above the undecomposed ores, are considerable bodies of 
black oxide of copper, copper glance, etc. 

The tonnage from these deposits would necessarily be immense, once transpor- 
tation was assured. Then again, south of Carroll courthouse are handsome ex- 
hibits of native copper, as shown at Sutphin's, Early's, etc. ; copper pyrites is 
even built into the foundation of the courthouse in stone taken from the northeast 
continuation of what is known as the Peachbottom vein, a depoait that extends 
southwest through Carroll and Grayson into North Carolina. 

The greater ledges of granite, gneiss, syenite, etc., are found in Grayson county, 
north of the courthouse, in Point Lookout and Buck mountains, and in Balsam 
and White Top mountains. Soapstone ledges are found near the great copper 
and Bulphuret lode (south of it). Mica and asbestos are found in the southeast 
side of Graysouo A.sbestos also in Floyd and Carroll, in the Blue Ridge, south 
side of the county, and the rest of the minerals named are generally distributed. 

This plateau is noted for the perennial flow of its fine, clear streams ; their vol- 
ume and their fall per mile being such as to give them high importance and use- 
fulness. New river, Little river and some of their larger tributaries will each 
give power of very large dimensions. 



150 HAND-BOOK OF VIRGUSIA. 



BLUE RIDGE BY COUNTIES. 



COUNTIES. 

Floyd. 

Carroll. 

Grayson. 



HAND-BOOK OF TIEGINIA. 151 



BLUE RIDGE DIVISION. 



FLOYD 



was formed in 1831 from Montgomery. It is thirty-eight miles long with a mean' 
width of eighteen miles, and has 234,023 acres of land, valued at $809,579. Popu- 
lation, 13,255— white, 11,981 ; colored, 1,274. 

It is surrounded by the counties of Patrick, Carroll, Pulaski, Montgomery and 
Franklin, and lies between two prominent ranges of the Blue Eidge mountains. 
The surface is rolling ; the soil is fertile and well adapted to grain and grass. A 
correspondent, a prominent citizen of the county, emphasizes this statement as to 
the adaptation to grass, saying : '* Indeed this is a county of meadows." 

The products are tobacco, wheat, corn, oats, hay. Spring wheat has recently 
been tried with very encouraging results. Many fine horses, mules, cattle, sheep 
and hogs are raised in this county. The finer grades of tobacco are raised here, 
and bring a considerable revenue to the county. Fruit-raising is profitable. 
Grapes are successfully cultivated and the wild varieties are found everywhere. 
Ives, Concord and Norton's Virginia are found to succeed best. 

It is watered by Little river and its many branches. This is an elevated and 
healthy region, and possesses a delightful summer climate. 

Its nearest railroad is the Norfolk and Western, passing through the adjoining 
counties of Montgomery and Pulaski. It is hoped that the Franklin and Pitt- 
sylvania railroad will soon be extended into this county. The timber consists of 
white oak, red oak, black oak, chestnut oak, hickory, white ash, pine, walnut, 
dogwood, map 3, blackgum and chestnut. About one-half of the area of the 
county is in original forest timber of the varieties named. 

Minerals are found in different localities— gold, iron, copper and ochre; also, 
a very fine quality of soapstone and asbestos, in large quantities. The copper ore 
is very valuable. The soapstone is valuable in the construction of furnaces for 
smelting operations. Iron pyrites, yic4ding fifty per cent, of sulphur, is abundant. 
The gold discoveries on Laurel creek, in Floyd county, are proving valuable. 

A correspondent furnishes the following : 

" The land of this county is principally rolling, but very little of it is too steep 
to be conveniently cultivated. There is a sufficiency of bottom land on the 
numerous streams to produce all the hay necessary for the present wants of the 
farmers, who winter all the stock they can graze, and if we had a railroad, could 
increase the hay product so as to have a considerable quantity to ship from the 
county. The lands are well adapted to the growth of all the grasses ; clover does 
well, and red-top or herds grass seems to come spontaneously, and makes the 
finest grazing we have. Meadows produce on an average about a ton and a half 
to the acre. 



152 HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 

" The county is well supplied with fine timber — some walnut, considerable fine 
white pine, a vast quantity of the best white oak and locust, with the other oaks 
and hickories, which is very fine for the manuf icture of wagons. 

" The surface is, I suppose, as finely watered as can be found anywhere. It is 
very rare to find a piece of land, to the extent of tea acres, without a never-fail- 
ing stream of cool water, as pure as can be. 

"The county is well supplied with chnrclies and public schools, and a good 
private sciiool each for boys and girls at tlie courtliouse. Jacksonville, the county 
seat, is a beautifully located town of five hundi'ed inhabitants, has four good 
churches, three hotels and six stores, all of which have a good trade from this 
and a portion of Franklin and Patrick counties. Board can be had for ten dollars 
per montli at either of the hotels. It is twenty-one miles from the courthouse to 
the railroad at Christiansburg. There is no better region than this county for 
those of the South and cities seeking rest and change of air during the hot summer 
months. 

" There are some valuable minerals here undeveloped, and there is splendid 
water power at various places sufficient to run most any kind of machinery. No 
region is better suited to the raising of sheep, which rarely become diseased in 
this high country. Land is worth from ten to twenty-five dollars per acre — the 
average price is about fifteen dollars." 

FLOYD COUKTY MINEB^lLS AT THE NEW ORLEANS EXPOSITION. 

1. Bed Iron Ore, from Ultizers' ford. 

2. Terra Cotta Clays with Soapstone, from Dr. H. Clarks' leases, corner of 
Floyd, Carrol] and Patrick. 

3. Arsenopyrite, with 32 ounces of silver to the ton, from upper waters of Roanoke 
river. 

4. Sieatite, from near Floyd courthouse. 

5. Gold Ore, from Brush creek, from W. H. Harman, Floyd courthouse. 

6. Kaolin, from near Floyd courthouse, W. H. Harman. 

CARROLL 

was formed in 1842 from Grayson. It contains 350,961 acres, valued at $665,217. 
Population 13,309 ; white, 12,977 ; colored, 332. 

This is the central one of the three counties of that elevated plateau, formed by 
the bifurcation of the Blue Ridge range of mountains — Floyd and Grayson being 
the other two. The surface is much broken and mountainous, but there are many 
rich valleys and fertile plains, and the hill lands and mountain sides afford grass 
and pasturage of the best description. The soil varies greatly in color and tex- 
ture, but is generally fertile. 

Tlie productions are tobacco, wheat, corn, oats, grass and fruits. Fruits are 
produced in great perfection here, especially the apple and grape. 

A large portion of the county is still in timber of the original forest growth, 
consisting mostly of oak and other hard wood trees. There are some very good 
bodies of white pine in the northwestern section of the county. 

New river and many of its large tributaries flow through the county, and furnish 
much valuable water-power. 

Carroll is without railroad facilities except in the northwest borders, near which 
runs the " Cripple Creek Branch " of the Norfolk and .Western railroad into the 
southern part of Wythe. 



HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 155 

This region is very rich in minerals, consisting of iron ores, copper, lead, zinc, 
steatite, mica, etc. The following specimens of minerals from this county were 
•exhibited at the New Orleans Exposition : 

OARROLIi COUNTY MINERALS AT NEW ORLEANS EXPOSITION. 

1. Copper, carbonates and pyrites, in siliceous gangue, from Peachbottom veins 
jit Dobbyns. 

2. Iron and Copper Pyrites^ from beded vein 28 inches thick and 20 miles long, 
near Cranberry Plains. 

S. Copper Sulphuret, same locality as above. 

4. Iron Ore, Hydrated Peroxide, from cap of pyrites beded vein, same place as 
1 and 2. 

5. Native Copper and Gangue, from Sutphin mine, averages 5 per cent, of metal. 

6. Mineral Water, from Grayson Sulphur Springs. 

7. Copper and Iron Pyrites, with copper carbonate and gangue, from ore bands 
southern side of Floyd and Carroll. 

8. Copptr Pyrites, from Wildcat mines, near Hillsville. 

9. Copper Pyri'es and Magnetic Pyrites, from Cranberry mines, near Hillsville. 

10. Magnetic Pyrites, occurs in immense quantities in massive ledges. 

11. Mica-Schist, occurs in large amounts near Hillsville, and is well suited for 
iq[uarrying. 

12. Copper Pyrites, from property of S. S. & J. E. Clayton, of 6 S. Gay street, 
Baltimore. 

The following from Virginia Department of Agriculture : 

13. Iron Ore, hematite. 

14. Iron Ore, limotiite, from Martin Dalton. 

15. Lead Ore, from Martin Dalton. 

16. Iron Ore, from same. 

17. Gneiss, from J. J. McGrady. 

18. Mi<:a Slate, from same. 

19. Iron Ore, from Martin Dalton. 

GRAYSON 

was formed in 1792 from Wythe. It borders on the North Carolina line, and is 
bounded by Smyth, Wytlie and Carroll. The western portion is mountainous, 
but its eastern and central parts lie in a fertile valley, and comprise a fine farming 
section. The productions are corn, wheat, oats, &c. Tiiis is a good grass region, 
and raises a great number of cattle, horses, sheep, &c. Population, 13,068 ; wliite, 
12,071 ; colored, 997. It contains 260,113 acres of laud ; assessed at $565,556. 

Bees and poultry thrive well. Fruit raising is an interesting and profitable 
business. The climate is pleasant and healthy, and tlie natural advantages of this 
section are very great. It lacks railroad facilicies, the nearest road being the Nor- 
folli and Western, passing through the adjoining county of Smyth. 

This county has valuable mineral resources; copper (very rich), iron, mica, 
granite, asbestos and steatite are found here. An iron ore of peculiar character 
is found in Grayson and Wythe, yielding, it is said, in some cases, by usual smelt- 
ing process, a metal having all the qualities of steel. There are also large de- 
posits of ores of the same character as the celebrated Cranberry ores of Nortli 
10 



154 HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 

Carolina, which are perhaps the best Bessemer ores ever discovered. The deposits 
in this county are a continuation of the same formation. 

Grayson is one among the best-watered counties in the State. New river and 
its tributaries traverse every part of it and afford abundant water-power for all 
kinds of .machinery. But owing to the lack of transportation little manufactur- 
ing is carried on. One or two forges partially supply the home demand for iron, 
and recently one or two woolen mills have been erected. Timber is abundant, 
consisting principally of white and yellow pine, white oak, red oak, chestnut oak, 
some walnut and cherry, chestnut, hickory, maple, &c. 

The one great need of this county is a railroad, and it will be as great a boon 
to other parts of the State as to the county. Two or three lines of railroad have 
been chartered through this county, and it is confidently believed that some one 
of them will be built in the near future. 

Grayson is becoming noted for the number of neat white churches which dot 
its hills and valleys, and which indicate to the stranger the religious sentiment of 
its people. Several high schools, as well as the public school system, are in a 
prosperous condition. New framed school houses are rapidly taking the place of 
the less comfortable ones heretofore used. 

GRAYSON COUNTY MINERALS AT NEW ORLEANS EXPOSITION. 

1. Magnetic Iron Ore, from 3^ vein, two and one-half miles from Old Town,, 
metallic iron 70 per cent., Capt. C. R. Boyd. 

2. Magnetic Iron Ore, from beds of Slaughter, Dunn & Co., from Capt. C. R. 
Boyd. 

From Virginia Department of Agriculture. 

3. Hematite Iron Ore. 

4. Pyrite, S. M. Dickey. 

5. Chalcopyrite, H. "Williams. 

6. Gneiss, H. Williams. 

7. Magnetite. 

8. Magnetite, black oxide of iron, from Maj. W. K. Armistead, of Abingdon. 



HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 155 



APPALACHIA. 



Appalachia, with its long ranges of high mountains, shows in Southwestern 
Yirginia some of its greater mountains so formed as to be well-calculated to call 
forth from a skilful general, as was General Washington, a remark meant to 
convey the idea that he would use them as an impregnable defence. Possibly he, 
in speaking in that sense of "the mountains of West Augusta," meant the very 
ranges that occupy the middle of Appalachia ; and, apparently, make great natural 
fortresses, as Burke's Garden is in appearance. 

This elevated mountain basin in Tazewell county, in the very heart of the great 
Clinch range, contains" about 30,000 acres of the most fertile blue-grass land, and 
is surrounded by high, almost mund, mountain escarpments, all round, except at 
one point on the north side, where the waters of this singularly beautiful basin 
break through and form Wolf creek. 

In the counties composing Appalachia doubtless there are many other localities 
of equal beauty and character as points of strategical imftortance ; but this is slight 
indeed when compared with their value as the depositories of great mineral 
wealth, the storehouses of the rain and moisture, and the great barriers against 
the too sudden incursion of the great northern storms. 

This interesting group of counties is made up, geologically, of the rocks between 
the earlier Palasozoic (leaving out the Primordial) and the lower carboniferous, 
inclusive, disposed in long, generally parallel lines, running northeastwardly and 
bouthwestwardly. Their rather irregular boundary line on the southeast pursues 
the general line of the great North mountains under various local names, as before 
stated, and having the Alleghany mountains a part of the way, and the eastern 
limb of the Cumberland mountains for a considerable distance on its northwest 
side. The whole territory, of about 3,800 square miles, is immensely important 
to the State for quite numerous reasons; among which, it may be stated, are the 
vast areas of superior grazing lands in limestone valleys, extensive forests of ex- 
cellent deciduous and soft woods, and some of the most important mineral-bearing 
series of rock formations in the State. 

The great crust of the earth was broken up several times in the cosmlcal action 
by which it was formed, giving five or six repetitions of the great bands of which 
it is composed, in most of its transverse sections, from which have resulted most 
valuable alternations of mountain and valley, of limestone grass-lands and wooded 
ridges and mountains. These mountains are usually composed of a greater and 
a lesser range, co-extensive and parallel — the larger holding the valuable iron and 
manganese-bearing rocks of the upper Silurian period, lying northwardly, and 
the smaller, the rocks of the latter half of tlie Devonian period, lying southwardly, 
with a valley of slate between. This smaller range frequently holds, on its south 
flank, valuable deposits of proto- carboniferous coal, as in Bland county and north 



156 HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 

pai'ts of Allfghany county ; but in Giles and Craig counties these coal-rocks seem 
to be cut out by faults. 

Tliere is also a line of these very lovvest of coal-rocks in the sr>uthwestern 
corntr of Wise county, and thence southwest through Lee. along the east flank of 
the Cumberland mountains; but coal is not in them as it is in the great coal-rocks 
close on the north of them. 

In some localities the larger mountains are great curved anticlines, giving valu- 
able and extensive outcrops of iron and manganese ores (Rogers', numbers V to 
VII and VIII incluf-ive), as in the case of Rich Patch mountain, of Alleghany and 
north side of Botetourt county; Potts or Middle mountain, Alleghany county ; 
Salt Pond mountain, in Giles, and Round mountain, in Bland county. These 
great anticlines are sometimes broken along their crests and spread apart longi- 
tudinally — apparently by some great end pressure— bringing to view the great 
fossil-bearing limestones of III and IV, as in the ca>e of Sinking cref k, Giles 
county, and of Burke's Garden and Thompson & Ward's coves, Tazewell county, 
thus accounting for the wonderful fertility of those areas, so high as 2.600 to 
3,600 feet above the sea level. These repeated breaks in the great crust give such- 
fertile limestone belts as those of Nanny's creek and Dunlap's creek, of Alleghany ; 
the number VI limestone belt of Pott's creek; Sinking creek, of Craig and Giles 
counties; the great basin of New river in Giles county, and the lines of Wolf and 
Walker's creeks in Giles and Bland counties ; Burke's Garden and the great coves 
and valleys of Tazewell, on Clinch and Bluestone rivers and tributaries ; the 
great coves, valleys and rich limestone gardens of Rissell county and of Scott 
county, and the like splendid grass valleys of Powell's Valley, in Lee county. 
Abb's Valley, in Tazewell, and upper Powell's Valley, of Wise, owe their rich 
limestone belts to like upthrows of sub-carboniferous rocks. 

This region is marked by often repeated sections of some of the most valuable 
geological formaticns so far recorded ; to go into any detailed description of which 
would necessitate the enumeration of nearly the whole range of rock strata com- 
prised between the Archaean age and the carboniferous period, inclusive, with all 
their valuable stores of granite, syenite, gnei?s, steatite, mica, asbestos, feldspar, 
quartz, glass sand, magnetic and specular iron ores, copper, gold and silver ores, 
nickel, manganese, tin, sulphur, zinc, lead, limonite and other ores of iron, 
barytes, gypsum, salt, petroleum, slate, honestone, grindstone, building stone, 
limestone, marble, cement stone, potter's and firebrick clays, and bituminous, 
semi-bituminous, splint, cannel and semi-anthracite coals, and thermal and 
mineral waters — begirming such description in the Archaean on the southeast or 
Blue Ridge side, and ending it in the carboniferous rocks on the northwest or 
Cumberland side. These various extensive bands or ledijes of rocks, where they 
protrude above the surface, disclose a general strike or trend northeast and south- 
west, dipping at all angles, from positions almost perpendicular to nearly flat — 
the mountains and valleys generally showing the steeper dips, inclining usually 
to southeastward, while the strata of the Cumberland Plateau, or coal rocks, are 
found, in the main, nearly flat, with the whole broad expanse so presented to 
view as to render easily accessible much the greater part of the various minerals 
just mentioned. 

The convulsions and {disturbances of the earth's surface, by which the great 
mountains composing the Appalachian chain in Virginia were formed as a whole, 
acted in such a way as to erect numerous greater and lesser lines of nearly 
parallel ridges, separated from each other by valleys, many of which are several 
times broader than the bases of the mountains by which they are bounded — re-' 



HAND BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 157 

suiting, as is the case in the great Southwest Valley and the yalleys of the Hol- 
ston, Walker's creek, Clear Fork, Clinch and Powell's rivers, and Giles and Burke's 
Garden basins, in the very extensive areas of fine grazing and farming lands, 
which owe their great natural fertility to the decomposition of massive bands of 
limestone, of which the rock material in these valleys, in great part, consiats. 
But in these convulsions there were two most remarkable departures from the 
parallelism which marked their action throughout this region. One of them is 
shown on the easterly side of the Appalachians, in a great bifurcation ot the Blue 
Ridge at the point where nearly join the counties of Eoanoke. Floyd, Mont- 
gomery and Franklin, whence trend the two great arms of the bifurcation west- 
wardly and southwardly, enveloping in their wide grasp the rich mineral plateau 
composed of the counties of Floyd, Carroll and Grayson. 

The other remarkable evidence of this action is shown on the more westerly 
side of the Appalachians, in a bifurcation of the Cumberland mountain in Lee 
county, whence its two great arms trend eaatwardly and northeastwardly, en- 
veloping those noble coal areas comprised in a part of Lee county, nearly all of 
Wise, and the whole of Dickenson and Buchanan counties, and projecting a strip 
of coal rocks, of well ascertained value, into Tazewell, Russell and Scott coun- 
ties The Blue Ridge plateau, so enveloped as described before, shows 

only one or two ledges of limestone ; but derives the great fertility, observed in 
much of its soil, from the decomposition of heavy bands of aluminous silicates of 
potash, lime, iron, &c. ; while the nearly similarly shaped plateau of the Cum- 
berland owes whatever of fertility its soils may possess, to the wearing of sand- 
stones, slates, «&c , holding organic matter of fossils with some lime variously 
combined, and, in a few localities, thin beds of limestones, intercalated between 
the much heavier strata of sandstone and slates. 

The great mou tains bounding, and often dividing the extensive valleys longi- 
tudinally, have a general elevation, above the valleys, of 1,000 to 1,600 feet, while 
the valleys are from 1,000 to 2,800 feet above sea-level. 

On the southeast side of this extensive region is the Blue Ridge, forming in its 
straighter alignment and prolongation, the southeast boundary of the great Val- 
ley of Virginia, throughout its extent. 

Passing over numerous broken ridges, in the Valley itself, the great North 
mountains, under various names, such as The Gap, Walker's and Clinch moun- 
tains, form the northwest boundary of the Great Valley, toward the southwest 
end, also forming the southeast boundary of Appalachia in the main ; though the 
northeastward continuation of the Clinch range, after reaching Burke's Garden, 
and passing that lovely mountain basin, going northeast, divides Appilacbia 
nearly in two — as is the ca-e in Gtrden, Round Mountain and their south-flank- 
ing ridge (Big Brush\), Wolf creek, Pearis, Angel's Rest, Butte, and Salt-Pond 
mountains, upon which last, at an elevation of 4,700 feet above sea-level, is thg 
famous Mountaiu Lake, the origin of which dates back a little more than on» 
hundred years. 

Then, north of this*a short distance, a part of Appalachia is bounded northwest 
by Peter's and East River mountains — the boundary line, at the east end of Taze- 
well county, jumping across from East River mountain to Flat Top (near Pocahon- 
tas), which, with its coiuinuations— Sandy Ridge and Stone mountains, &c., com- 
posing the eastern bifurcition of the Cumberland mountain — form the northwest 
boundary of Appalachia proper, toward the southwest. 

Then, Trans-Appalachia holds on its northwest side, next Kentucky, the last of 
Virginia's great mountains — the Cumberland. 



158 HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 

This important section of Virginia, so formed into sucli noble alternations of 
mountain and valley, hill and dale, of pasture and woodland, with its magnificent 
and inexhaustible repositories of mineral wealth, presents a topography, systems 
of drainage, and resulting atmospheric conditions of superior excellence, which, 
together with its position on favorable parallels of latitude, combine to render it 
equal, if not superior, to any area of like size in the world. 

The diflPerent systems of drainage so established may be enumerated as follows : 

1. That of James river, flowing east into the Atlantic ocean ; its tributaries wa- 
tering this territory being Otter creek, Roaring Run, Stone river. Purgatory, 
Looney's, Catawba, Craig's, John's, Long's, Entry and Sinking creeks ; Jackson's 
river. Cow Pasture river, Wilson's, Mill, Pott's, Dunlap's and Indian Draft creeks, 
and many minor tributaries. These chiefly drain the counties of Bath, Highland, 
Botetourt, Alleghany and Craig, and a small part of Roanoke of this territory. 

2. That of Roanoke river, flowing southeast through the Staunton and Dan 
rivers into the Atlantic ocean. Its tributaries, with which this paper is concerned, 
are Back creek. Wolf, Glade, Tinker's, Mudlick, Peter's, Craven's, Mason's, Mill 
creeks and others ; South Fork, North Fork and their tributaries draining a small 
part of Botetourt, the greater part of Roanoke county, more than half of Mont- 
gomery and a small area of Floyd county. 

3. That of New river, which flows northward and northwest, forming the Great 
Kanawha, and delivers its waters through the Ohio and Mississippi rivers into the 
Gulf of Mexico. Its tributaries watering this territory are : East river. Wolf 
creek. Big and Little Stony, Doe and Sinking creeks. Mill and Walker's creeks, 
Morris' Run, Back, Tom's, Watt's, Strouble's, Crab, Plum, Peak and Mack's creeks. 
Little river and its tributaries ; Big and Little Reed Ihland creeks ; Pine, Reed, 
Poplar-Camp and Cripple creeks; Crooked, Chestnut and Brush creeks; Upper 
Little river and tributaries ; Elk, Peachbottom, Bridle, Saddle, Wilson's, Grassy, 
Helton, Big and Little Horse creeks, and many minor tributaries. All of which 
drain, in whole or. in part, the following counties : Giles, Bland, southeast side of 
Tazewell, west end of Craig, much of Montgomery, Pulaski, nearly all of Floyd 
(except some water gaps in Blue Ridge by the headwaters of the tributaries of 
Dan river), Wythe, a small area of Smyth, Grayson, and all of Carroll except that 
part which overlaps the Blue Ridge and is drained by the headwaters of Ararat, 
a tributary of Dan river. 

4. The drainage by the system of the Tennessee river, subdivided into : (a) that 
of the south, middle and north forks of Holston river and their tributaries ; (b) 
Clinch river and tributaries ; and (c) Powells river and tributaries, all of which, 
when united in the Tennessee river, flow westwardly, thence through the Ohio 
and Mississippi rivers into the Gulf of Mexico. These drain, in whole or in part, 
the counties of Symth, Washington, Tazewell, Russell, Scott and Lee, and a large 
area of Wise county. 

5. The Louisa, Russell and Pound Forks of Sandy rivej; and their tributaries, 
draining the counties of Buchanan, Dickenson and a large part of Wise, and 
flowing northwardly into the Ohio river. 

These five extensive drainage systems, deriving their erosive power no less from 
their constancy than their great flood volumes, have, in the course of time, greatly 
modified the topography of this region. But, as in the case of John's creek, a 
tributary of James river, whose head springs are quite 4,300 feet above the sea, 
near Mountain lake ; tributaries of New river, rising on White Top and Balsam 
mountains, fully 5,400 feet above tide ; headwaters of Holston river, rising at Bear 



HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 159l 

Town, near Burke's Garden, 4,700 feet above tide ; and of Powell's river at Stone 
mountain, 4.000 feet above the sea, we have left to us, by these streams, and, 
als '.affected by the agencies of ice and snow, these splendid contrasts in the 
elevations and depressions fo this section's topography, which not only secure to 
the region a healthful and invigorating summer climate, that is fast tending to make 
it the sanitarium of the South, but adds no less to the beauty of the scenery than 
security against any lengthened failure of rainfall. 

Note. — In the foregoing general description of "Appalachia " it is not clearly 
stated that in this division is included all of Virginia west of the great Valley, the 
sub-division defined on the small map as " Trans- Appalachia" being treated as a 
part of the Grand Division. The great Appalachian chain, which is regarded as 
the dominant feature of the mountain system composing this region, gives its 
name thereto, and the term has not a very well-defined application, but it is sufll- 
cient for the present purpose to state that it comprises the thirteen counties west 
and north of the Valley Division. 

To avoid confusion, attention is again called to the fact that county lines do not 
correspond accurately with the geological divisions of the State. It will be 
observed (see small map) that a strip of Appalachia extends along the whole tier 
of the Valley counties, taking in the western edge of Augusta, Rockingham, 
Shenandoah and Frederick, but by far the greater part of these counties being in 
the Valley, the edge projected into Appalachia 1*3 not considered separately. 

And only the southern section of the "Blue Ridge," where it broadens out into 
the "plateau" embracing the three counties of Floyd, Carroll and Grayson is 
taken account of separately, the long, narrow "ridge" north of Floyd being 
divided between the Valley and Piedmont. 

As was natural, the writer of the last papers has regarded his subject with the 
eye of a geologist and mineralogist rather than with that of a farmer, and perhaps 
has not brought out the magnificent agricultural capabilities of this favored region 
as prominently as might be desired and deserved. In truth, the mineral wealth 
of the country described is so vast that it could hardly fail to engross the atten- 
tion of a specialist to the exclusion of other subjects of consideration. At a future 
time I hope that these other parts of the picture will be filled in by a hand as 
eager and as full of the subject as the writer of the last paper is of his speci- 
alty.— Com. OF Agrioultube. 



160 



HAND'BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 



COUNTIES OF APPALACHIA. 



NATUBAii Sub-Divisions. Counties. 

J f Highland. 

Sources of James ] AH^ghany. 

L Craig. 

IXew River Country | gjand. 

(Tazewell. 
Scott. 
LLee. 

(Bnchanan. 
Wise. 
Dickenson. 



HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 161 



APPALACHIA BY COUNTIES. 



ALLEGHANY 

was formed in 1822 from Bath, Botetourt and Monroe. It is twenty-six miles 
long and has a mean breadth of twenty milfs, with an area of 4' 3 500 acres, as- 
sessed at $958 000, Population — white, 4,454; colored, 1.132 ; total, 5,586. 

The surface is very much broken, and mountainous but there are some consider- 
able areas of valley lands of the finest limestone soil, producing excellent cropa 
of tobacco, grain, fruit and grass. The main business of the farmers is grnzing 
and rearing cattle, hor-e*, sheep and swine. The mountains are clothed with 
immense forests of valuable timber, and are flU-^d with iron ores of great purity 
and value. These ores have been largely developed and worked in the various 
furnaces in the county, of which " Clifton Forge," ''Low Moor" and "Long- 
dale " are the principal. Pig iron is turned out by these furnaces in great 
amounts and at low cost. 

The county is watered by Jack?on and Cow Pasture rivers, which unite near 
the eastern border and form the James. The Chesapeake and Ohio railway tra- 
verses thi* county centrally, passing through Covington, the county seat. The 
Richmond and Alleghany railro!\d connects at Clifton Forge with the Chesapeake 
and Ohio railway, and wirh its easy grades affords much relief to the heavy haul- 
ing of the great amount of metal from this region. 

This ie a healthy region, and the summer climate is delightful. The mountain, 
lands are cheap, and no doubt capable of being utilized to a much greater extent 
than now in the stock-raising busiueas. 

Covington, the county seat, is a place of commercial importance, very favor- 
ably situated for trade. Low Moor, eight miles lower down on the Chesapeake 
and Ohio railway, is rapidly growing into a manufacturing town, the great iron 
works here being the nucleus. Clifton Forge, at the junction of the Chesapeake 
and Ohio and Richmond and Alleghany, is fast becomfng an important town. 

ALLEGHANT COUNTY MINERALS AT THE NEW ORLEANS EXPOSITION. 

1. Fo$.til Iron Ore, from Clinton, No. V, beds i n Clifton Forge Pass, Rich- 
mond and Alleghany railroad. 

From Low Moor Iran Company. 

2. Limonite Iron Ore, lump, from company's mine in No. VII, Oriskany. 
S. Limonite Iron Ore. washed, from same. 

4. Limestone, No. VL Lower Helderberg; from quarry No. 1, used for flux. 

5. Coke, made at Low Moor furnace, in company's ovens, and used in that 
furnace. 



162 HAND-BOOK OF VTRGINIA. 

6. Coal, from No. XII, or lower coal measures ; from New Rirer field of West 
Virginia on Chesapeake and Ohio railway, from which above coke was made. 

7. Sample of Coke Pig Irons made at Low Moor furnace from above ores; No. 
1, foundry pig; No. 2, foundry pig; No. 1, mill pig; No. 2, mill pig; No. 3, close 
mill pig ; No. 4, silvery pig ; No. 5, mottled pig f No. 6, white pig ; No. 7, part 
of ''Salamander " blown from furnace " well " with "Atlas " powder after blast 
No. 2 of Low Moor furnace. 

18. Limonite Iron Ore, from Iron Mountain mines on Pounding Mill run. 

19. Stalactites and Stalagmites and other cave rocks from a cave in Lower Hel- 
derburg. No. VI, limestone, near Low Moor station, C. & O. railway. 

20 to 23. Five boxes Pig Iron, grades from No. 1 to mottled, inclusive, with the 
•characteristic cinder for each grade ; from the Longdale furnaces. 

24. Box of Lower Helderberg, No. VI, limestone, used for flux in Longdale fur- 
naces. 

26. Box of Coke, used in Longdale furnaces, from the Sewell coal bed, and 
ovens of Longdale Company, at Sewell, West Virginia, from New river or No* 
XII, Lower measures coal. 

26. Box of lump ore, brown hematite, from Oriskany, or No. VII, from mines 
■of Longdale Company, in Brushy mountain, near head of Simpson's creek. 

27. Unwashed ore, or pay dirt, of above mines. 

28. Washed ore of above mines. 

29. Refuse from washer in washing above ores. 

30 and 31. Clay and flint from top and bottom, respectively, of above iron mines. 

32. Lump of Cadmia, from deposition from fumes in throats of Longdale blast 
furnaces. 

33. Limonite, brown iron ore, lump weighing 625 pounds and box, from west 
side Peter's mountain, on Dunlap creek, two and a half miles south from Trice 
switch of C. & O. railway, from mine of Keyser & McAlister, of Backbone, Va., 
from which some 25 tons are daily shipped to Etna Iron Works, Ironton, Ohio. 

34. Limonite, brown iron ore, from fine deposit in No. VII, Oriskany, at lower 
•€nd of Clifton Forge Pass, R. & A. railroad. 

35. Limonite, brown iron ore. No. VII, or Oriskany, from cuts 1, 2, 3 and 4, and 
washed ore, from the " Stack " mine, near Backbone station, C. & O. railway. 

36. Limonite, brown iron ore, "lump" and "pipe," from Rumsey mine. 

37. Hematite, Specular or Magnetic Iron Ore, from Rumsey mine. 

BATH 

was formed in 1790 from parts of Augusta, Greenbrier and Botetourt, and is now 
one of the border counties. It has an area of 538,368 acres, assessed at $848,563. 
This shows a very low valuation ; but the large proportion of waste mountain 
land explains this. Some of the valleys are exceedingly fertile and beautiful — 
the soil formed from disintegrated limestone — producing grain and grass luxu- 
riantly; even in the mountains there is good grazing; so that this is a most excel- 
lent stock-raising county, beautifully watered by clear mountain streams, flowing 
into the Jackson and Cow Pasture rivers, which meander through this county and 
unite some miles below, near the borders of Alleghany and Botetourt. 

The population of this county is small, only 4,482 ; white, 3,521 ; colored, 961 ; 
or about five to the square mile ; but the people are independent and prosperous, 
having a healthful and beautiful pastoral country. Schools and churches conve- 
niently located. 

The Chesapeake and Ohio railroad passes through the southeastern part of the 



[hand-book of VIRGINIA. 163 

county, giviag an outlet for the abundant products, and access to the many at- 
tractive watering places of this county. Ae;ood turnpike runs through from east 
to west, and the county roads are improving in condition. Nature has been prod- 
igal to Bath in respect to mineral springs. The Warm Sulphur, the Hot, the Heal- 
ing, have long been celebrated — the " Warm Sulphur " for n^-ar a century. Here 
is the county seat, "Warm Springs," an attractive village in the rich "Warm 
Springs Valley." In the southeastern part of the county, near the railroad, we 
have another group, the Bath Alum, Millboro', and Wallawhatoola. To these re- 
sorts multitudes of summer visitors are attracted by the health-giving waters, pure 
air, lovely scenery, fine fishing and shooting, and excellent fare of this favored 
region. 

There is much iron ore in this county, and some of it has been worked suecess- 
fally for many years. A promising vein of coal has lately been found near Bath 
Alum. 

A correspondent writes : 

" We have in the county all kinds of timber indigenous to the mountains of 
Virginia, such as oak, pine, hickory, ash, &c. There are in the county eight 
flouring mills, some of them with the improved methods for making flour. We 
have several steam saw mills constantly at work, one planing mill, and another 
almost ready to run, at which all kinds of supplies for house building will be 
manufactured. The land along the rivers and creeks is quite productive, and 
yields good crops of the various grains and grasses. The upland and mountains 
afford fine range for stock,, partsicularly sheep, which is a growing industry. Our 
people lack the capital to develop either the mineral or agricultural wealth of 
their county, and would gladly welcome any who would come among them 
to assist by their money or labor." 

BATH COUNTY MINERALS AT THE NEW ORLEANS EXPOSITION. 

From Virginia Department of Agriculture. 

1. Limonite Iron Ore, No. VH, Oriskany, from Joseph Baxtqj", Esq., Bath Alum 
Springs. 

2. Manganese Ore, from Col. Wm. McClintic. 

3. Red and Brown Iron Ores, from J. C. Harvey, Esq. 

4. Kaolin. 

5. Ochre, deep red, from deposit on land of Mrs. M. M. Bratton, on Mill creek, 
near C. & U. R. R. Contributed by Rev. Samuel Brown, Millboro'. 

BLAND. 

Bland county was formed in 1861 from Wythe, Tazewell and Giles. Seddon is 
the county seat, and is located in the Walker's creek valley, near the centre of 
the county, with turnpikes diverging east, west, north and south. Several moun- 
tain ranges traverse the county from northeast to southwest, making beautiful 
and fertile valleys, with rolling hills between, threaded by streams as clear and 
sparkling as the dew of heaven. These mountains are filled with chromic, hema- 
tite, magnetic, paint and specular iron ores, lead, kaolin, ochre, barytes, copper 
and slate ; are covered with a heavy forest of oaks, chestnut, hickory, ash, walnut, 
poplar, cucumber, lind, locust, pine, maple, both hard and soft. There is no 
outlet for this untold wealth that is mountain-bound and locked up where nature 
formed it. Several railroad lines have been projected, and there are good hopes 
of some of them being built in the near future. 



164 HAND-BOOK OP VIEGINIA. 

There are several mineral spriags in the county, the most noted of which are 
Sharon springs and Kimberling springs. The former are seven miles west of 
Bland courthouse, on the turnpilie leading from Wytheville to JefFersonville. 
These springs are recommended in scrofulous diseases. At these springs there is 
a vein of coal eleven feet and four inches thick, and said to be of the finest 
quality. 

Kimberling springs are seven miles north of Bland courthouse, ensconced right 
in the bosom of the mountains, with all the charms that belong to nature in her 
■ilent and dreamy mood. 

Bland is a grazing county, and her capacity for grazing ia being increased every 
year. She is not far behind the foremost counties in the Stati' in the number of fine 
fat bullocks sent to the eastern markets. The sheep industry is profitable, and is 
increasing every year, and would increase more rapidly if the cultivation of the 
miserable dog was abandoned. Horses, mules and hogs of good blood are raised 
for home use, besides a great many for market. 

Population — white, 4,750; colored, 234; total, 5,004. Number of acres of land, 
320,820, assessed at $433,053. Value of town lots, $19,195. 

The waters of the eaptern portion of the county flow east and empty into New 
river, while those in the western portion flow west and empty into the Holsten 
river; Sharon springs being the head waters of the Holston river, and are 2,849 
feet above the level of the sea. 

Wheat, corn, oats, rye and buckwheat are cultivated to perfection ; some tobacco 
is raised, though not much. Nearly all the domestic gnashes are cultivated. Blue 
grass, poa pratensis, comes of its own accord, being a native of the soil, and is the 
king of grasses. 

Apples, peaches, pears, plums, cherries and grapes do well when properly 
attended to. Many varieties of grapes grow wild, some of which make a fine 
quality of wine. 

The county is well watered with the finest of springs, of both lime and free- 
•tone water, and several large creeks, affording plenty of water and the finest 
sites for all kinds ^f machinery, with plenty of sandstone, and blue and gray 
limestone for building purposes. 

The finances of the county have been well managed, and the county is out of 
debt. 

The people are sober, industrious and thriving, possessed with as much energy 
as the people of any county in the Commonwealth ; and be it said to the honor 
of her citizens, that there is not a bar room in the county, and has not been for 
years. Her people always extend a welcome hand to all who are seeking homes, 
or permanent investments, to come into her borders and help build up, and de- 
velop her latent wealth hid in the earth, and set the waters to humming to the 
music of the spindle, and the loom, and the locomotive. 

Good churches are found in almost every neighborhood, with as much toleration 
and as little bigotry as can be found among Christian people elsewhere. 

BLA.ND COUNTY MINEBA.IiS AT THE NEW ORLEANS EXPOSITION. 

From Captain C. E. Boyd. 

1. Broton Iron Ore, large deposit in No. Ill; lands of S. H. Newberry. 
1. Specular Iron Ore, fine quality, from base of No. Ill; lands of Newberry 
and others. 



HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 165 

3. STOvon Iron Ore, cubical pseudomorph after pyrites ; lands of Harman New- 
berry. 

4. Iron Ores, from No. X, from soutti foot of Brushy mouatain, near Siiaron 
springs ; land of Newberry and others. 

5. Coal, from No. X, proto-carboniferous, near Sharon springs ; lands of New- 
berry and others. 

6. Red and Brown Iron Ores, from No. VIII, slates, from Eound mountain, 
Huntina: Camp and Wolf creeks. 

7. Brown Iron Ore, compact, from roclis overlying No. VII, Oriskany ; good 
for basic process. 

8. Fossil, Petraia Cirniculum, from No. III. 

9. Bed and Brown Iron Ores, splendent, from underlying rocks of VII, Bound 
mountain ; lars;e deposits ; 56 per cent, of metallic iron ; 0.08 phosphorus; lands 
of Peery and Boyd. 

10. Marble, nearly white, from land of Sam. H. Newberry. 

11. Mineral Water, from Shiron Alum and Chalybeate Springs. 

12. Ma'ganese, silicide of, from Round mountain, lands of Peery and Boyd. 

13. Brown Iron Ore, fibrous, from large beds in Round mountain, lands of 
Peery and Boyd. 

14. Fossil Iron Ore, from 20-foot bed of No. V, Round and Garden mountain, 
lands of Peery and Boyd. 

The following from the cabinet of the Virginia Department of Agilculture : 

15. Chert, in limestone in form of moccasin. 

16. Oclire and Iron Ore, from Iron mountain. 

17. Iron Ore, red, from Iron pountain. 

18. Tufaceous Marl. 

19. Lead and Zinc Ores. 

20. Manganese. 

31. Barytts, on limestone. 

32. Feldsjpar. 

BUCHANAN 

■was formed in 1838 from Russell and Tazewell. It contains 490,848 acres,* as- 
sessed at $285,989. Population — white, 5,661 ; colored, 33 ; total, 5,694. It lies 
on the we&tern slope of the Alleghany mountains, and has two of its sides the 
dividing lines separating Viiginia from West Virginia and Kentucky, Much of 
the surface is rugged atid mountainous, but the soil is fertile and well adapted to 
grass, and its great elevation gives it a moist, cool climate, well suited to grazing 
and cattle raising. The valleys especially are fertile, and produce excellent crops 
of all the cereals. The lauds are very low priced, and are held in immense tracts 



♦The returns In the Auditor's office make the county much larger— i. e., 752,211 acres,— but I am 
convinced that the figures given above are much more nearly correct. Much of the laud is held in 
immense tracts; a single one calls for more than '200,00u acres, and it is a well known fact that th« 
old surveys frequently overlap, the lines crossing each other in utter confusion. To show how 
unreliable the returns are, the Auditor's Beport of 1ST6 gives the number of acres 911,357; in 
report of 1877 it was credited with 987,272— nearly 76,000 acres more than in the preceding year, 
although the county limits remained the same. In ISSO the county of Dickenson was formed from 
parts of Buchanan, Kussell and Wise, but this cannot account at all satisfactorily for this great 
variation in the returns of the number of acres in Buchanan before and since that time Unless 
all the maps to which I havt- access are very faulty in the scale of proportions, it is impossible hat 
Buchanan can have more than 400,000 or 500,000 acres, if so much as that.— C. A. 



166 HAND-BOOK OF VIRGIiillA. 

by speculators and persons interested in minin». Minerals exist in vast quanti- 
ties, and consist mainly in iron ores, coal and salt, undeveloped and waiting for 
the coming of railroads. With good transportation there would soon be exploited 
in this county the immense resources of minerals and of timber now lying unde* 
veloped. The cattle business could be cheaply prosecuted on a large scale if the 
requisite capital was invested in this fine grazing country. This region, for which 
Nature has done so much, is now attracting attention, and cannot long remain 
cut off from th« outpr world. An inviting field is offered here for settlers, as the 
lands can now be bought for a tithe of the value they will have when railroads 
penetrate these rich valleys.* 

CRAIG 

was formed in 18.50 from Botetourt, Roanoke, Giles, and Monroe (now a county of 
WftSt Virginia). Area, 242,961 acres, assessed at $.566,279. Population — white, 
3,558 ; colored, 236 ; total, 3,794. The surface, lilve all this section of the State, 
is rugged and mountainous. Tiie soil is fertile, and peculiarly adapted to the 
growth of rich gra->ses. Accordingly we find here a. pastoral life among the peo- 
ple, and much fine stock. A large proportion of the surface is in original forest 
of superior timber, as white oak, ash, hickory, maple, and other valuable woods. 
The timber of this section of the State is noted for its hardness and great strength. 
The county is watered by Craig's creek, which flows northeast *nd empties into 
James river at Slieets, in the neighboring county of Botetourt, and by Sinking 
creek, which flows southeast and empties into New river, in Giles. New river 
flows north into the Kanawha, a tributary of tlie Ohio. Thus the waters from a 
part of this county run to tlie Atlantic ocean through the Jimes, and from another 
part, across the water-shed, make their way through the Ohio and Mississippi to 
the Gulf of Mexico. Tlie minerals consist mainl'y of iron, manganese and slate. 
Indications of silver have been found here. Cheap homes and a salubrious and 
pleasant climate add to the attractions of this section for settlers. 

Craig is now somewhat isolated in respect to railroad facilities ; but the day is 
probably not distant when a railway will be constructed along the valley of Craig's 
©reek into the rich coal district of West Virginia. There is probably immense 
mineral wealth in the mountains of Craig adjacent to the track which nature has 
marked out for the road. 

CRAIG COUNTY MINERALS AT THE NEW ORLEANS EXPOSITION. 

1. Slate, from Craig's creek, of superior quality and in great quantities. 

2. Manganese, st-ven miles west from New Castle, and two from preceding. 

3. Matiganiferous Iron Ore, from Kyle's on John's creek, six miles northwest 
from New Caslle. 

4. Slate, four specimens from "Custer" quarry on Craig's creek, six miles 
southeast fn)m New Castle. 

5. Iron Ore, from John Goode, four miles southeast from New Castle. 

6. Manga?iese, four large specimens from " Dame wood " mine, from near same 
locality. 

7. Manganese, two specimens from J. E. Custer's, six miles from New Castle. 

8. Slate, from Jones quarry on Craig's creek, five miles southeast from New 
Castle. 

» The day Is probubly not far off when a railroad wll) touch the western corner of Buchanan (see 
note on Dickenson county), and others will be constructed as feeders to the main line. 



HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 16T 



DICKENSON 



was formed in 1880 from Russell, Wise and Buchanan. It is nearly a parallelo- 
gram with two sides of twenty-one miles and the other two of fifteen miles in 
extent, and contains about 193.112 acres, assessed at $110,796. No census of th& 
population was taken in 1880, but it is supposed to be about 4.000. It is bounded 
on the northwest by the Cumberland range of mountains, which separate it from 
Kentucky, and on the southeast by the Big Ae mountains. The surface on these 
borders is very rugged, but in the central parts it has many fine valleys and much 
fertile land. The products are wheat, corn, oats, rye, barley, buckwheat, tobacco, 
flax, melons and grass. Vegetables and fruit are raised in great abundance and 
of good quality. This and the other counties of Trans-Appalachia are in the great 
grazing region of the southwestern part of Virginia. The lands vary in texture 
with the character of the prevailing rocks, but the greater part of them are good 
grass lands. Timber of the most valuable kinds is found here in great abun- 
dance — three-fourths of the area being in original forest of oak, hickory, poplar, 
elm, ash, maple, wild cherry, walnut, pine, &c. The average assessed price of 
land being little more than twenty-five cents per acre, this region should afford 
grand inducements for men with capital to engage in the stock-raising business. 
This county is without railroads, but this want will probably soon be supplied. A 
most important road has been proji^cted from the region of the rich Bt-'ssemerorea 
(Cranberry) of North Carolina, by Bristol, Tenn., through the counties of Wash- 
ington, Russell and Dickenson, touching the corner of Buchanan, into Kentucky, 
and down the valley of the Big Sandy to Catlettsburg, thus opening communica- 
tion with Ironton, Cincinnati, Louisville and other cities of the West, and with tlie 
East and Southwest by way of Bristol. Tliis road has been surveyed through the 
pass or canyon where the Big Sandy breaks through the Cumberland mountains, 
making a sheer cut with perpendicular walls of immense height. This pass — 
aptly called "The Breaks" — presents, it is said, the grandest scenery to be found 
east of the Mississippi, only equalled in the United States by the canyons of the 
Colorado and the Arkansas. It is the gateway of the Cumberland mountaios. 

Dickenson is watered by the head streams of Russell's Fork of Big Sandy river 
flowing north into the Ohio. The minerals of this county have not been developed, 
but iron ores and coal (bituminous, splint and cannel) are known to be abundant, 
and many mineral waters of great value to the invalid. 

GILES 

was formed in 1806 from Montgomery, Tazewell and Monroe, and is now one of 
the frontier counties of the Srate, adjoining Murcer and Monroe counties, of West 
Virginia. The eastern and western portions of the county are mountainous, both 
the boundaries being formed by ranges of the AUeghany mountains. Some por- 
tions of the county are very fertile, producing fine crops of cereals and grasses. 
This county is a fine grazing region, and produces some of the finest fat cattle that 
are sent to the eastern markets. There are several mineral springs in this ciunty — 
places of popular resort during the heated term — the most noted being the "'New 
River White " and "Hunter's Alum." That wonderful freak of nature, the so- 
called ''Salt Pond," in the mountain of that name, attracts many vil^itor^<. 

Giles is watered by New river and its tributaries. The population is— white, 
7,685 ; colored, 1,109 ; total, 8,794. Number of acres of land. 275,492, a-^se-sed at 
$932,753. It abounds in fine growths of the usual timber of this region— walnut, 



168 HAND-BOOK OP VIRGINIA. 

wild cherry, sugar and other maple, oak, &c., and vast beds of iron ores, copper 
«nd coal. 

In Giles there is found red marble, near Chapman's ferry and near the base of 
Angel's Rest mountain. Hydraulic limestone, near Chapman's ferry, contains of 
carbonate lime 43 per cent., and of carbonate magnesia, about 3-5 per cent. ; silica, 
17.30, and 2 per cent, alumina and oxide of iron. That a little below Chapman's 
ferry has 53 per cent, of carbonate lime, and 43 per cent, of mngnesia, and 2 per 
cent, silica, and 0.50 alumina and oxide of iron. Tliese are highly hydraulic. 

The branch road of the Norfolk and Western railroad from Central station, on 
the borders of Montgomery and Pulaski, passes nearly due north through the 
northeast end of Pulaski, and through the centre of Giles to the West Virginia 
line, and through Mercer county, West Virginia, in a southwest course toGratiam 
and Pocahontas, in Tazewell, and is to be extended into the central parts of the 
latter county, where it will tap one of the finest mineral and timber regions in 
the world. Before this road was made the county of Giles labored under great 
disadvantages, but has already felt the eff«cts of being brought in easy reach of 
the markets of the world, and is reaping rich fruits from her valuable mineral 
and forest wealth so long shut up among her hills and valleys. There is here a 
great opening for immigration, which will not long neglect a region so inviting. 

GUiES COUNTY MINERALS AT NEW ORLEANS EXPOSITION. 

1. Fossil, rhusophycus bilobatus, from No. 1, on Little Stony creek ; Captain 
■C. R. Boyd. 

2. Marble, from Charles H. Snidaw, Kimballton. 

3. Bed Iron Ore, from regular stratified bed, showing abundance of it; C. W. 
McClauiJfherty. 

4. Clay and a mug made from it, of fine quality for refractory purpose ; C. W. 
McClaugherty. 

5. Red Iron Ore, from D. F. Hale, Narrows ; metallic iron 68.44 per cent. 

6. Spotted Marble, from J. H. Hoge. 

HIGHLAND 

was formed in 1847 from Pendleton and Bath. It is nearly a square of about 
twenty miles each way, and contains 250,793 acres, assessed at $793,313. Popu- 
lation—white, 4,715 ; colored, 449 ; total, 5,164. 

This is an elevated mountain region on the northwest line, dividing Virginia 
from West Virginia. The soil is mostly limestone, and produces good crops of 
corn, wheat, oats, rye, buckwheat ami grass. The Kentucky blue grass springs 
spontaneously wherever the timber is removed, and furnishes the finest pasturage, 
not inferior to that of the best lands of Kentucky. Grazing and the reari;ig of 
horses, cattle, sheep and swine constitute the main reliance of the owners of the 
soil. There is no place where a living is more easily made and where the people 
enjoy more of ease and leisure. The climate is healthy and invigorating, and the 
people are kind and hospitable. 

Valuable timber, especially walnut and wild cherry of the very best quality for 
cabinet makers' use, is abundant, and when this section shall be endowed with 
railroad facilities it will constitute a large item of wealth. Iron ore, coal and 
marble are known to exist in abundance in this county, and probably other valua- 
ble minerals will be found when its access to market shall justify more extended 
explorations. 



HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 169 

Monterey, the county seat, and McDowell are the principal vQlages, and are 
■busy and growing places, notably the former. 

This county is drained by the head waters of Cow Pasture and Jackson rivers 
emptying into the James, and by some of the head streams of the South Branch 
of Potomac river, which interlace in this elevated water shed of the two river 
systems, and mark out the track of the great line of railroad which has been pro- 
jected and will at some day not distant connect Pittsburg with the inexhaustible 
deposits of iron ore in Alleghany, Botetourt and the adjoining counties, and will 
quadruple the value of the lands of Highland. 

A correspondent has furnished a sketch of Highland county, which is added to 
complete the description, although there is some repetition of the features of the 
foregoing : 

''This county is in the western, or rather northwestern part of Virginia, 
bounded west by the Alleghany and east by the Shenandoah mountains, and is 
on the high dividing lands between the James and Potomac waters, from 1,500 to 
4,500 feet above the sea, and contains 390 square miles. 

"The surface features are greatly varied, consisting of little ranges of moun- 
tains and hills, between which are quite ertile and productive valleys. These 
little ranges up from the cleared lands are covered with a luxuriant growth of 
timber, consisting of the difiterent kinds of pine, walnut, chestnut, wild cherry, 
white, red and chestnut oak, poplar, Had, sugar maple, hickory, &c., millions of 
feet of which could be made valuable by the aid of the streams, on which logs 
might be floated either north by the South Branch and North Fork waters leading 
to the Potomac, or south by the Bull Pasture, Cow Pasture and Jackson river 
waters running into the James, affording excellent advantages for lumbering. 

"The climate is, especially in summer, as healthy and as pleasant as any in the 
State. Highland has a rich soil. In the western part the valleys are mostly a 
limestone, quite productive of all kinds of grain, and being specially adapted to 
grass is the fine grazing portion of the county, and is for this purpose among the 
best in the State. The middle and eastern parts are more inclined to be sandy 
and slaty, and produce fine crops of grain and fruits. Agriculture, combined 
wirh stock raising, is the leading occupation. Corn, wheat, rye, buckwheat, po- 
tatoes, oats, hay and orchard products are raised. Butter, honey, cheese, wool, 
dried fruits and maple sugar are also produced. But few of these articles, how- 
ever, are raised in greater quanties than will support the population, owing to 
distance from regular markets and the lack of railroad facilities for shipping. 
Therefore grazing and the shipping of live stock may be considered the most re- 
munerative. 

"The undeveloped resources of this county lie in the ores, iron and other kinds, 
and in the great forests of valuable timber that skirt the mountain sides. 

"This county leads the State in maple sugar; is second in buckwheat; has a 
large wool clip, and noted pasture and meadow lands. 

Monterey (population 300), the county seat, is on the Staunton and Parkersburg 
turnpike, which is a fine road, and runs through the centre of the county. All 
the county roads are fair. 

" We have public schools all over the county in every settled portion, besides a 
graded and normal school at Doe Hill, and an academy at McDowell in the east- 
ern part." 

LEE 

was formed from Russell in 1792. It lies in the southwest corner of the State, 
bordering on Tennessee and Kentucky. Its greatest length is sixty-five miles ; 



170 HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 

mean brftadtli, ten miles. It contains 292,271 acres, valued at $1,087,438. Popu- 
lation — white, 14,1«92 ; colored, 924; total, 15,116. Three-fifths of the surface i9 
mountainous or hilly, but the mountains are rich to the top, and a large propor- 
tion of the soil of the entire county is very fertile. The timber consists of oak 
(an immense quantity of tDkiie oak), poplar, pine, maple, buckeye, 'birch, beech, 
ash, cucumber, mulberry, locust, hickory, chestnut, much black walnut and wild 
cherry, with vast forests of red cedar, near Powell's river, of the best quality for 
the manufacture of cedar ware. The productions are corn, wheat, buckwheat, 
oats, rye and tobacco. The cultivation of tobacco is on the increase, A great 
variety of vegetables and fruits is produced. It is well watered by Powell's river, 
which is navigable for flat boats, and gives an outlet for the products of the county. 
The county is rich in minerals. Poor Valley ridge, which runs parallel to Cum- 
berland mountains through the whole length of the county, has a rich vein of iron 
ore (dyestone — red hematite) extending throughout the entire length. The Cum- 
berland mountains contain inexhaustible supplies of the best bituminous coal, a 
part of which is in this county. There are strong indications of zinc, lead and 
other valuable minerals. Salt has been made at two points in this county, but 
there are no works now in operation. 

About one-half of the area of the county is cleared land, one-tenth of which 
is in wheat, the remainder in oats, rye, corn, tobacco and grass. This is a fine 
grass county, and is famous for fine cattle, horses, &c. It has, moreover, at least 
2,500 acres in orchards of every variety of fruit. 

LEE COUNTY MINERALS AT THE NEW ORLEANS EXPOSITION. 

Collected by Gen. Imboden. 

1. Coal, from "Imboden" vein 10^ thick, from Crab Orchard, 10 miles south- 
west from Big Stone Gap. 

2. Fossil Iron Ore, Clinton, No. V, 2 blocks from Rufus A. Ayers, on north fork 
Clinch river. 

The following are from the Virginia Department of Agriculture : 

3. Fossil Iron Ore, Clinton, No. V. 

4. Fossil Iron Ore, Clinton. 

5. Limonite, brown iron ore. 

RUSSELL 

was formed in 1786 from Washington. It contains 300,873 acres, valued at 
$957,430. Population— white, 12,634; colored, 1,280; total, 13,914. 

The surface is much broken, as the county lies among mountain ranges, and 
much of the land is not arable, but there are very fine lands in the valleys. Graz- 
ing and stock raising is one of the principal industries of the people of Russell. 
They produce also ample supplies of grain, &c., for man and beast, and are mak- 
ing tobacco of very fine quality. 

This elevated mountain region is noted for its healthy and bracing climate, 
and offers, with its cheap grass lands, kept fertile by decomposition of fossil lime- 
stones and feldspathic rocks, fine locations for persons desiring to go into the 
cattle business. The number of fat cattle annually sold amounts to 10,500. 

It is drained by Clinch river, which is navigable by batteaux, and tributaries, 
which afford immense amounts of water-power, and are well stocked with game 



HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 171 

fishes. Moccasin creek, a tributary of the Holston, waters a considerable portion 
of its southern part. 

The timber of this county is of the most valuable kinds, of large size, and in 
great abundance. The minerals are iron ores, coal, lead, zinc, barytes, salt, sand- 
stone, limestone and marble, and are found in great abundance, of good quality 
and easily mined. There are several mineral springs in Russell. 

This county will be greatly benefited by railroads, which are expected to be 
constructed in the near future. Three lines of railway are now chartered, which 
will give to Russell nearly all the facilities it will require. The Richmond and 
Southwest railway will run thirty miles through the Clinch river section. The 
Saltville and Coal Mine railroad will cross the county diagonally from southea st 
to northwest, crossing the iron, marble, coal and timber belts. The Virginia, Ken - 
tucky and Ohio railroad has a branch road provided for in its charter which migh t 
pursue the line of Clinch river, on its way to Pound Gap. 

BUSSELIj county minerals at the new ORLEANS EXPOSITION. 

1. Splint Caal, from Lewis Creek; from Captain C. R. Boyd. 

2. Coal, from Ghana creek; contributed by Elijah Rasnick, Sr., of Pat's 
Store. 

The following were contributed by Major W. K. Armistead, of Abingdon : 

3. Marble, variegated, from base of Clinch mountain. 

4. Bituminous Coal, from Dump's creek. ' 

5. Coke, from Dump's creek coal. 

6. Splint Coal, from Dump's creek. 

SCOTT 

was formed in 1814 from Lee, Washington and Russell. The surface is moun- 
tainous and rolling, and the soil very good. Copper and Clinch rivers traverse the 
centre, and the North Fork of Holston the southern part. 

Population— white, 16,557 ; colored, 676 ; total, 17,233. Number of acres of 
land, 827,673, assessed at $756,095. 

The productions are corn (in very large quantity), wheat, oats, rye, grass and 
tobacco. Price of land, improved, from $5 to $50 per acre ; unimproved, from $1 
to $5 per acre. This county has great capabilities, and with railroads would ship 
largely, both of the products of the farm and of the mines. Two-thirds of the 
surface is in timber, consisting of several kinds of oak, poplar, walnut, ash, lind, 
beech, sycamore, elm and box elder. There are 2,000 acres in orchards of apples, 
peaches, pears, cherries, grapes, &c. There are 80 schools in the county, of which 
70 are public, and are in a fiourishing condition. There are 75 churches, 35 of 
which are Methodist, 20 Mission, 10 Hard-shell Baptist, and 10 Free-will Baptist. 
About 300 immigrants have settled in this county in the last few years. This is a 
grass county, and raises good stock. It is in the south end of the fertile Clinch 
river valley, a beautiful and salubrious region. 

This county is very rich in minerals, having abundance of iron ores, coal, cop- 
per, manganese, marble and limestone. It has saany fine locations for mills and 
manufacturing establishments on the water courses, with ample power to run any 
amount of machinery. A railroad through this section would develop great re- 



172 HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 

gources.* There are many mineral springs in tliis county, both sulphur and 
chalybeate, and indications of salt water in several localities, produoing a good 
percentage of salt. 

In this county is found in great abundance a reddish, fossiliferous mottled marble^ 
in which the colors are pleasingly blended with grayish white. The dun-colored 
and otlier varieties are also found of fine quality. A correspondent says there is 
mineral wealth enough in this county to pay the national debt. 

SCOTT COUNTY MINERALS AT THE NEW ORLEANS EXPOSITION. 

The following were collected by Gen. Imboden. 

1. Coal^ from 6^ to 7^ bed, head of Stony creek. 

2. Fossil Iron Ore^ Clinton, from land of W. W. James, near head of Stony 
creek. 

3. Iron Ore, brown hematite, from same locality as above. 

4. Tennessee Marble, brown, block 16xll^^x7|^\ dressed, polished, &c. ; from 
near Estillville, from land of Estillville Marble Company. Estillville is located on 
this marble, and with it the streets are Macadamized and the foundation walls of 
the houses are built. 

5. Dark Brown " Tennessee^'' Marble, a polished block from " Bounds " tract of 
the Estillville Marble Company, four miles west from Estillville. 

G. Dappled Gray Marble, a polished block, from land of same company, three 
miles southwest from Estillville. 

7. Cherry Spot Marble, a dressed block, from same locality, &c., as above. 

8. Pebble Marble, a polished block, from " Bounds " tract, same company. 
These specimens of marble are exceedingly beautiful ; the quarries from which 
they came are very extensive, extending for miles along the track of the projected 
and now partially completed South Atlantic and Ohio railroad. 

TAZEWELL 

was formed in 1799 from Russell and Wythe. It is thirty -three miles long with 
varying width, and contains 372,247 acres of land, assessed at $1,124,971; value 
of town lots, $105,702. Population— white, 10,947 ; colored, 1,914 ; total, 12,861. 

The surface is mountainous, but is relieved by fertile valleys, many of them of 
cosiderable extent. One of the largest of these valleys, called "Burke's Garden," 
is famed for its beauty and fertility. The soil is mostly limestone and very fertile, 
th« mountains even to their tops being covered with a luxuriant growth of blue 
grass, which is indigenous here. The favorite and most profitable occupation 
here is grazing and fattening cattle, many of them being sent across the Atlantic 
to the markets of Great Britain. 

The timber is abundant and of large dimensions. Oak, walnut, cherry, hickory, 
elm, chestnut and other trees attain to great size and altitude, and the most valu- 
able timbers are used in the ordinary construction of dwellings. 

Tazewell county is rich in minerals, having large deposits of the purest iron 

« Hitherto there has been no outlet for this mineral and forest wealth, no means of exploiting 
It; but now the South Atlantic and Ohio railroad Is in course of construction from Bristol, Tenn., 
to Mineral city, 66 miles distant, tapping some of the richest coal and iron deposits In the United 
States. Along the whole line of this road Is an immense quantity of the nnest timber— walnut, 
wild cherry, poplar, ash, white oak and pine. The beautiful marble mentioned above Is on the Une 
of this road'. This road is expected to reach Estillville, the county seat, by first January, 1887. 



HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 173 

ores, coal, salt, gypsum, &c. Coal is being mined in greatquantities and shipped 
by the New river branch of the Norfolk and Western railroad to Norfolk city for 
the coaling of ocean steamers, for which purpose it is well suited. 

Pocahontas, close to which is located the principal mine, is a rapidly growing 
town of some 3,000 inhabitants, and is the present terminus of the New river di- 
vision of the Norfolk and Western road. The great Flat Top mountain range, 
from which this coal is obtained, forms the northwestern border of this county, and 
is part of the dividing line between Virginia and West Virginia. The iron ores and 
other coal deposits will be developed by the contemplated extension of the branch 
road alluded to into the central parts of the county. 

This county is watered by Clinch river flowing southwest and by tributaries of 
New river flowing northeast. 

TAZEWELL COUNTY MINERALS AT THE NEW ORLEANS EXPOSITION. 

From Capt. C. R. Boyd. 

1. Bed Shale Iron Ore, fine quality, from Paint Lick mine. 

1. Semi- Bituminous Coal, a complete section, 12^ thick, from Pocahontas mine. 

2. Semi- Bituminous Coal, samples from Pocahontas mine. 

3. Coke, made at Pocahontas from above coal. 

The following are from Virginia Department of Agriculture : 

4. Fossil, in limestone. 

5. Iron, smelted from Poor Valley ore in a common smith's forge ; J. R. Witten. 

6. Limonite Iron Ore, from Poor Valley — from Harvey Peets. 

7. Fossil Iron Ore. 

8. Bed Iron Ore, magnetic. 

9. Limonite, brown iron ore. 
10. Manganese, ore. 

WISE 

was formed in 1855 from Lee, Scott and Russell counties. It has 311,391 acres of 
land, assessed at $189,616, or sixty cents per acre. Population in 1880 was — white, 
7,671 ; colored, 101 ; total, 7,772 ; but a part of this is to be credited to Dickenson 
county, a portion of which was taken from Wise since the last census . 

Wise county lies on the Kentucky line, and is located amongst the lofty ranges 
of mountains which traverse this Trans-Appalachian country. 

The soil, in some parts formed from limestone rocks, is of good quality and 
well adapted to grain and grass. Other sections, formed from disintegrated 
sandstone, have poorer soils, but the lands produce corn, vegetables and fruits 
and are well suited to the grape, and to pasturage, especially of sheep. 

The greater part of the area of Wise county is still covered with original forests 
of valuable timber, such as oak, chestnut, walnut, poplar, cherry, pine, &c. The 
cherry is notably abundant and of large size, and poplar trees of enormous size, 
some of them six and eight feet in diameter, with long, straight trunks seventy- 
five to eighty feet to the limbs. 

The minerals of this county are iron ores, coal (bituminous, splint and cannel) 
in great abundance and easily mined. Lead and silver have also been found, but 
not yet in paying quantity. Limestone and valuable sandstone for building are 
abundant. 



174 HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 

This county ia watered by several considerable streams flowing into Russell's 
fork of Big Sandy river, and by PoweH's river and otlier streams which flow south 
into Clinch river. 

The great need of this section is access to market for its very valuable timber 
and minerals, which, it is hoped, will soon be supplied by the construction of the 
several railroads projected through this country. 

A correspondent says : 

*' Had Wise county no other than her timber and mineral resources, she would be 
one of the most attractive counties in our State to the industrious and intelligent 
immigrant. At no distant day she is destined to become the theatre of immense 
mining and manufacturing operations, which will bring wealth to its thousands. 
All Wise lacks to make her one of the wealthiest counties in the State is railroad 
facilities, which she will very soon have. There is now being built a line of rail- 
road from Bristol, Tenn., to Imboden city, in this county, and several other pro- 
posed lines have been surveyed through tlie centre of the county, A matter of 
time is the only prerequisite to the development of our natural resources and a 
public conveyance for our mineral and timber wealth. 

"The free school system is well established in this county— every neighborhood 
has the advantage of from five to seven months' sciiool each year. Yip also have 
one college, situated at Wise courthouse, with a good facultj^ and with a daily 
attendance of from one hundred and fifty to two hundred pupils. This school is 
situated in a beautiful little town, where society is good, health good, board cheap 
— the very place for people of small means to acquire a good education." 

WISE COUNTY MINERALS AT THE NEW ORLEANS EXPOSITION. 

The following specimens were collected by Gen. John D. Imboden : 

1. Coking Coal, a block 15^'^ cube, from " Gibbs " opening in the " Imboden " 
bed, 8^ thick, on Preacher Fork of Callaghan creek, on lands (72,000 acres) of the 
Virginia Coal and Iron Company. 

2. Coke, made from above coal. 

3. Splint Coal, from Shelving-rock bed, 4J'' thick, from southeast face of Black 
mountain, from the property of the Virginia Coal and Iron Company. 

4. Splint Coal, long block, from same bed as No. 3, the property of same com- 
pany. 

6. Cannel Coal, from upper bench, 26'*'' thick, of 7^ bed in Black mountain, 
property of same company. 



HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 175 



MINERAL WEALTH OF VIRGINIA. 



By Gen. J. D. Imboden. 



It is very diffimlt, within the limits of a publication like this, to present with 
anything like detail a fair statement of the enormous mineral resources of the 
State. For all practical purposes, they are boundless in extent, and their distri- 
bution is such as to warrant the assertion that before the close of the present 
century the aggregate product of our mines will surpass in value those of any 
other State in the Union. 

Between the Atlantic coast and the western boundaries of the State, the whole 
"geological column" is represented, from the foundation granite to the capstones 
of the upper carboniferous. And in these successive strata are found the rocks 
and minerals peculiar to each all over the world, and usually in greater abund- 
ance and of greater excellence than anywhere else within the same area. 

It would require the space of a large volume to indicate all the localities where 
these "underground treasures" are now known to exist, and to describe their 
specific qualities and estimate their quantities. We must, therefore, be content 
•with a few general statements. 

IRON ORES. 

More than half the counties in the State contain mines of this invaluable mineral 
in ample quantities to give employment to thousands of men for ages yet to come. 

The varieties in different localities are — 

Magnetites (magnetic ore, «o called because of its polarity, or mysterious power 
of attracting the magnetic needle). 

Limonites (more commonly called brown hematite), and 

Sjiecular, or red hematite ore. 

'J'he magnetites abound in the Piedmont counties along the southeastern water- 
shed of the Blue Ridge, in the James River valley, and in the high plateau 
counties of Floyd, Carroll and Grayson, drained by New river and tributaries. 
And in Smyth and Washington, and some others of the southwestern counties, a 
semi-magnetic ore is found of great excellence, but not usually stratified with the 
encasing rocks as the magnetites proper are generally found to be. All these 
ores are of peculiar value, inasmuch as they are, almost without exception, so low 
in phosphorus as to be adapted to the manufacture of Bessemer steel, that is so 
fast superseding iron in all structural work. 

The hematites, both brown and red, have a much wider distribution. The 
brown exists in every county between the head of Tidewater and the western 



176 HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 

boundaries of the State. They are most abundant west of tlie Bine Ridpff, or 
rather on tho western slopes of that range of mountains and in the liills, niouii- 
tains and valleys beyond, all the way from the Potomac to the Tennessee line. 
The quantity of this class of ore throughout all that region is beyond all computa- 
tion. And where the railroads from the coal regions cross or penetrate this vast 
field of ore supply, and bring in the needed fuel for their reduction, large modern 
furnaces are springing up, and give assurance that at an early day Virginia will 
rank amongst the foremost States in this great industry. 

The red hematites and fossil ores are chit fly found in the southwestern counties, 
beyond the Alleghany, where it merg<;s in the Blue Ridge, a few miles wt st of 
Salem, in Roanoke county. 'J'he existence of these valuable ores in close proximity 
to coal and the magnetites of East Tennessee and Western North Carolina are 
now attracting the most lively attention of Northern and foreign capitalists, with 
every indication that within less than ten years numerous short railroads will be 
built, as the necessary foundation for the inauguration of the business of Bt/sse- 
mer steel-making in that section of our State on a scale never before thought of 
in any part of the South. 

COAIi. 

In the immediafee vicinity of Richmond, lying on both sides of James river, the- 

longest worked coal field in the United States exists. The coal is bituminous, and 
has long been esteemed as an excellent domestic fuel, and for foundry and black- 
emith work and the generation of steam. Coal was shipped from this field to 
Philadelphia before the Pennsylvania mines were worked. The field is from ten 
to twelve miles wide and from thirty to forty in length, and in many places the 
seams are of enormous thickness. As a convenient supply to Richmond and 
towns and vessels on James river this coal is an important element of wealth in 
the i:t&te. 

Smaller but similar mines exist near Farmville, but have never been extensively 
worked. 

In Botetourt, Pulaski, Montgomery, and Wythe counties are somewhat exten- 
sive deposits of a semi-anthracite coal of local importance and value, furnishing 
a good domestic fuel. It is also used in the great zinc reduction works at Puliisk^ 
and at the salt works in Washingt;on county. 

In Rockingham and Augusta counties are some irregular seams of true anthra- 
cite, but their extent and commercial value have not been determined. 

The great Virginia coal fieM lies in the counties of Tazewell, Russell, Buchan- 
an, Dickenson, Wise, Lee and Scott. In these counties from eight hundred to 
one thousand square miles are underlaid wjth numerous seams of as pure and 
rich bituminous and cannel coal as have been found in the world. The bitumi- 
nous coals proper cover the whole area mentioned — the splint more than two-thirds 
of it, and the cannel a much smaller and as yet undetermined area. These eoals 
are in the Lower and Middle'productive measures. At Pocahontas, in Tazev.ell^ 
where the mines now yield about one million tons per annum, only the Lower 
measures are worked, where a coal similar to that on New river in West Virginia 
is found in much larger seams than in West Virginia. In Russell, Buchanan, 
Dickenbon, Wise, Lee and Scott there are generally four, but in some places six 
seams of unsurpassed coal for all purposes, including coking coals that make a 
coke seven per cent, richer in carbon and freer from sulphur and ash than the 
celebrated Connellsville coke of Pennsylvania, and four per cent, better than the 
Alabama coke that is so rapidly building up a vast iron production in thot State. 



HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 17T 

Several railroads to and through this immense storage of the hest of fuel for 
metallurgical purposes, for gas production, steam and domestic use, are projected. 
The companies are organized, and there is every indication that v^ithin the next 
ten years the development in that section of the State will surpass anything in 
its history. The best of the iron ores above mentioned are in close proximity to 
these coals ; and the agricultural resources of that part of the State are adequate 
to the support of an immense industrial population. 

ZINO. 

At Pulaski, on the Norfolk and Western railroad in Southwestern Virginia, are 
located the largest zinc works in the South, with a supply of ore ascertained to be 
millions of tons. In numerous other localities in the same section of the State 
this valuable metal is found, and doubtless will lead to the erection of other 
works. 

LEAD. 

In Wythe county lead has been extensively mined for over one hundred years. 
At the present time the largest lead works in the South are carried on there, with 
apparently an exhaustless supply of ore. In the same section other mines of 
great value have been found, and measures are on foot to develope some of them. 
In Nelson county there is an old lead mine that seems only to have lacked capital 
to have become valuable. 

COPPER. 

In Carroll, Floyd and Grayson counties large veins of copper ores, sulphurets 
and carbonates exist, and prior to tlie war some of them were successfully 
worked. But their remoteness from railway lines has deterred capitalists from 
reestablishing these mining operations. There is some prospect that at an early 
day a railroad will penetrate that region, and lead to the reopening of these val- 
uable mines. 

In several of the Piedmont counties copper ores are known to exist, but the 
mines have never been operated, except in Loudoun, where much valuable ore 
has been raised and shipped to the North. 

TIN. 

In Rockbridge and Nelson counties tin has been found, with indications that 
the mines are extensive. The quality of the ore has been ascertained by analysis 
to be excellent, and it is expected from the partial openings made that the quan- 
tity will be sufficient to insure adequate capital for the full development of the 
mines. 

MANGANESE. 

This mineral is found widely disseminated in Virginia, in the form of the black 
oxide, and as manganiferous iron ore. The most productive manganese mine now 
worked in the United States is tliat of the Crimora Company in Augusta county, 
at the western base of the Blue Ridge near Waynesboro'. Other deposits that are 
thought to be as large have recently been brought to light within a few miles of 
Crimora, between the Shenandoah Valley railroad and the Blue Ridge. 

GOLD, 

There is a well defined belt of gold-bearing quartz running across tke State 
through the counties of Prince William, Stafford, Spottsylvania, Louisa, Fluvanna, 
Goochland, Buckingham, Prince Edward, Charlotte and Halifax. In many places 



178 HAND-BOOK OP VIRGINIA. 

on this belt mines have been opened from time to time, and worked with profit 
and success. With the progress of scientific improvement in the extraction of 
gold, it may fairly be expected that gold mining in Virginia will become an ex- 
tensive industry. This precious metal has also been found in Montgomery 
county. And in the Blue Ridge range of mountains in Roanoke and Patrick 
counties silver ores have recently been found that give promise of valuable results. 

MIOA AND PLUMBAGO. 

In several of the counties near Richmond deposits of these minerals have been 
lound, and to some extent worked with profit. 

ASBESTOS AND STEATITE. 

Asbestos of good quality and workable quantity exists in the counties lying 
"between the upper James and the upper Dan rivers at several places, notably in 
Pittsylvania, Henry and Patrick. Steatite (aoapstone) of fine quality for resisting 
the most intense heat is found in Amelia, Albemarle, and some other counties of 
Middle and Piedmont Virginia. 

KAOLIN AND FIRE CLAYS. 

These valuable substances have been found in large quantities in many of the 
Piedmont counties, and in Augusta county near the Blue Ridge. The latter de- 
posit is extensively worked. 

LIME AND CEMENT. 

Metamorphic limestones exist in the valley of James river between Richmond 
and Lynchburg. Silurian limestone extends from the Potomac to Tennessee, in 
great variety. Since the discovery that building lime with a large percentage of 
the carbonate of magnesia is a poor material to use in the mortar of large build- 
ings and other permanent works of masonry and brick, peculiar value attaches to 
beds of pure carbonate of lime. Such beds fortunately exist at convenient locali- 
ties in the great Shenandoah Valley, and lime-burning is already carried on there 
at two points — Riverton in Warren county and Eagle Rock in Botetourt — where 
an article is produced entirely free from magnesia, and is in great demand for 
city work, where the sulphurous fumes of coal combustion are so destructive to 
magnesian-lime mortar. As this pure limestone exists in many places, the indus- 
try is a rapidly growing and profitable one. 

Most excellent hydraulic cement has been produced for many years and in large 
quantity at Balcony Falls, in Rockbridge county. The stone is also found in 
Bedford near B'lford'sGap, but has not been utilized. 

PLASTER (GYPSUM). 

On the waters of the North Fork of Holston river, in the counties of Smyth 
and Washington, there are many miles in length of an immense ledge of gypsum, 
as pure as that brought from Nova Scotia. It has been penetrated to the depth 
of nearly 600 feet and no bottom found. We have here a quantity of this valu- 
able fertilizer that is practically exhaustless for centuries to come. 

SALT. 

In conjunction with the above mentioned plaster bank, the celebrated wells of 
salt exist, that have been used for about a century at Saltville, in Washington 



HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 179 

county, and during the late civil war supplied nearly the whole Confederacy east 
of the Mississippi with the indispensable article of salt of the greatest purity. No 
diminution in supply or quality has ever been detected. The production now is 
about half a million bushels annually. 

MABL. 

In many of the Tidewater counties enormous beds of blue and green sand marl 
and shells are found but a few feet below the surface, supplying a fertilizing ma- 
terial at a nominal cost that is rapidly converting all that region into the garden 
spot of the continent for supplying the great cities of the Atlantic coast with table 
vegetables of the highest excellence, and is giving such importance to the peanut 
culture. 

SULPHURET OF IKON (PYRITES). 

Immense mines of pyrites are worked in Louisa county and the products shipped 
north for the use of sulphuric acid manufactories. So important has this industry 
become that branch railroads have been run to the mines from the main line of 
the Newport News and Mississippi Valley railroad. Other large deposits exist in 
the mountain regions bordering on North Carolina, but needing a railroad for 
their development. 

BARYTA. 

Great quantities of this mineral have been shipped from the valley and south- 
western counties since the war. 

BUrLDING STONES. 

Virginia probably stands first amongst the States in the variety and beauty of 
her building stones, beginning with her granites and slates in eastern Virginia 
and extending to her limestones in the west, her brownstonrs in several eastern 
counties, her marbles in Loudoun, Rockingham, Augusta, Rockbridge, Bedford, 
Russell and Scott counties, and ending with the beautiful sandstones of the south- 
western coalfield in half a dozen counties. This merely cursory glance at our 
mineral resources is all that we have space for. The cabinet of specimens being 
collected by the Department of Agriculture, at Richmond, will bear out and illus- 
trate the text of this report in a most striking manner to the eye of any stranger 
wlio will call and examine it. 

TIMBER RESOURCES OF VIRGINIA. 

The great timber regions of the State are located at its opposite extremes. The 
Dismal Swamp forests have been " a mine of wealth " to their owners since the 
war. From Sufl'olk two narrow gauge roads have been built through these forests 
for the sole purpose of hauling out the lumber from numerous saw-mills. Pine 
and cypress predominate in that section. Nearly all the south side counties lying 
between the James river and North Carolina are productive of large quantities of 
excellent pine and white oak lumber. As we approach the Blue Ridge the pine 
gives place to the hard woods. The forests of Franklin, Heniy and Patrick are 
valuable, even up to the summit of the mountains, and lumbermen have found 
their way in there, cutting black walnut, poplar, white oak, ash and hickory. All 
over eastern Virginia the black and red oaks grow, and have supplied, and for a 
long time will continue to furnish, large quantities of bark for tanning purposes. 
In the Shenandoah Valley, except along the slopes of its bordering mountains 



180 HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 

there is no great quantity of lumber to be had ; but in the mountains lying west 
of the valley there is a great deal of valuable hard wood timber still standing. 
But the timber region par excellence of the State is in the southwest. In the 
counties of Buchanan, Dickenson and Wise the forests are immense. The popu- 
lation is sparse, and the timber is so heavy that clearing the land is difficult. 
Hence the opened farms are far apart, and are, as a rule, mere patches in the 
wilderness of trees. Black walnut, poplar, chestnut, hickory, maple, ash, white 
oak, black oak, chestnut oak, beech, birch, sugar and red maples, and some hem- 
lock in the dark hollows are the trees one meets with. Sometimes a spot of a few 
hundred acres is found covered with wild cherry. All the trees mentioned attain 
an enormous size in these forests. All the other counties of the southwest abound 
in the same kind of timber, but generally there has been much more clearing done, 
especially of the fertile grazing lands along the rivers and smaller water courses 
than in the three counties mentioned. Still their hills and mountains are clad 
with dense forests of nearly all the trees named. The southeastern end of Wash- 
ington county, which extends to the summit of the great Iron mountain, contains 
50,000 to 100,000 acres of white pine in its virgin state. At least half of this area 
is covered with trees of white pine of great size and value. A railroad through 
that section, either along the western base of the mountain or across the white 
pine belt from Grayson county through a gap in the mountain to Bristol- Goodson, 
Washington county, would open up this valuable forest to the lumberman. 

It may be said in conclusion, under this head, that no State in the Union is 
better supplied with timber for its uses in all sections and with a very large sur- 
plus for export from many localities than Virginia. This fact is attracting wide- 
spread attention and is having no small influence in attracting population and 
capital to the State since the forests of the great aorthwest are approaching ex- 
haustion. 



HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 



181 



LIVE STOCK ON FARMS IN 1886. 

Taken from returns of Commissioner of the Revenue for 1886. • 



COUNTIES. 



Horses, 

Mules, Asses 

and 

Jennets. 


Cattle. 


Sheep. 


Hogs. 


3,3T0 


4,656 


1,766 


9,171 


5,517 


11,113 


8,761 


7,584 


591 


587 


3 


623 


1,09T 


3,512 


1,978 


1,793 


1,403 


3,215 


1,832 


2,601 


2,330 


4,485 


1,296 


3,157 


1,476 


3,496 


1,468 


2,229 


8,502 


22,296 


11,502 


12,883 


1,292 


3,141 


4,677 


2,059 


5,692 


12,542 


9,170 


8,281 


1,529 


4,684 


4,757 


3,092 


3,379 


7,669 


3,793 


4,867 


2,271 


7,537 


3,683 


5,041 


864 


3,924 


3,680 


4,768 


1,538 


4,371 


2,497 


3,000 


2,987 


5,899 


4,312 


4,580 


3,012 


5,052 


2,136 


4,262 


1,785 


8,626 


7,119 


6,141 


923 


1,669 


1,441 


2,271 


2,250 


5,110 


3,377 


4,175 


2,253 


3,550 


3,322 


3,972 


2,885 


6,026 


7,740 


5,579 


1,249 


3,783 


3,238 


2,017 


3,390 


9,697 


10,327 


5,716 


1,502 


3,282 


3,021 


3,256 


717 


3,123 


8,539 


3,471 


1,817 


4,312 


1,983 


4,672 


886 


1,216 


1,063 


1,821 


1,536 


4,111 


2,652 


3,469 


3,662 


7,602 


2,786 


4,555 


6,089 


23,278 


10,800 


10,499 


2,372 


8,629 


6,456 


5,010 


1,573 


3,601 


1,806 


2,062 


4,088 


10,111 


6,526 


6,683 


4,710 


9,473 


8,336 


4,139 



Accomac 

Albemarle 

Alexandria. . . . 
Alleghany ..... 

Amelia 

Amherst 

Appomattox.. 

Augusta 

Bath 

Bedford 

Bland 

Botetourt 

Brunswicli:,... 

Buchanan 

Buckingham.. 

Campbell 

Caroline 

Carroll 

Charles City.. 

Charlotte , 

Chesterfield. . . 

Clarke... 

Craig 

Culpeper 

Cumberland.. . 

Dickenson 

Dinwiddle 

Elizabeth City, 

Essex 

Fairfax 

Fauquier 

Floyd 

Fluvanna 

Franklin 

Frederick..,.. 



182 



HAND-BOOK OP VIRGINIA. 



LIVE STOCK ON FARMS IN 1886— CONTINUED. 



COUNTIES. 



Giles 

Gloucester 

Goochland 

Grayson 

Greene 

Greensville.... 

Halifax 

Hanover 

Henrico 

Henry 

Highland 

Isle of Wight.. 

James City 

King & Queen. 
King George. . 
King William,, 
Lancaster 



Lee. 



Loudoun 

Louisa 

Lunenburg.... 

Madison. 

Mathews 

Mecklenburg. 
Middlesex..... 
Montgomery. 
Nansemond.. 

Nelson 

New Kent...., 



Mortnampton. 



rHonnumoerland. 

Nottoway 

Orange 

Page 

Patrick 

Pittsylvania 



Horses, 

Mules, Asses 

and 

Jennets. 



2,094 
1,753 
1,582 
2,793 
1,238 
1,105 
4,84S 
2,094 
2,290 
2,199 
1,878 
2,145 
596 
1,604 
1,546 
1,549 
1,014 
3,813 
8,043 
2,469 
1,746 
2,423 
873 
3,263 
955 
2,561 
2.478 
2,640 
1,037 
2,917 
334 
1,317 
1,209 
2,843 
2,408 
1,604 
6,962 



Cattle. 



5,963 
4,713 
2,925 
8,804 
2,371 
2,770 
7,811 
4,673 
3,960 
4,533 
8,077 
3,391 
1,702 
4,906 
2,829 
2,766 
2,310 
9,511 
21,495 
5,860 
4,803 
6,725 
2,106 
8,799 
1,902 
T,400 
3,555 
5,456 
1,807 
1,303 
273 
3,689 
3,323 
7,064 
6,302 
6,291 
9,231 




6,066 
2,692 
2,144 
8,624 
1,467 

933 
^,240 
2,495 

950 
1,935 
9,007 

946 

863 
2,533 
1,887 
1,785 
1,023 
6,042 
14,402 
3,686 
2,456 
4,162 

966 
4,994 
1,177 
4,160 

083 
3,326 

921 

494 
20 
1,848 
1,622 
8,369 
2,260 
3,366 
3,406 



Hogs. 

4,671 
3,815 
2,341 
4,688 
2,904 
4,165 
9,187 
5,399 
2,818 
4,632 

3,381 
9,866 
1,856 
2,668 
1,638 
2,277 
2,679- 

11,082 

11,677 
4,066 
4,249 
6,127 
1,769 
8,352 
2,087 
5.043 

11,393 
6,2T1 
2,634 
3,177 
1,001 
3,415 
3,024 
6,618 
5,660 
5,068 
9,107 



HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 



185 



LIVE STOCK ON PAEMS IN 1886— Continued. 



COUNTIES. 



Powliatan 

Prince Edward 
Prince George. 
Princess Anne . 
Prince William 

Pulaski 

KappahannocK. 

Richmond 

Roanoke 

Rockbridge 

Rockingham.... 

Russell 

Scott 

Shenandoah.... 

Smyth 

Southampton... 
Spotsylvania... 

Stafford 

Surry 

Sussex 

Tazewell 

Warren 

Warwick 

Washington.... 
Westmoreland. 

Wise 

Wythe 

York 

Total 



Horses, 

Mules, Asses 

and 

Jennets. 


Cattle. 


1,438 


1,869 


1,46T 


3,428 


1,401 


1,24T 


2,252 


4,083 


2,563 


6,598 


1,853 


T,316 


1,183 


9,714 


958 


3,587 


2,293 


5,239 


4,922 


12,300 


8,133 


19,837 


3,944 


13,927 


4,542 


10,827 


4,T75 


11,678 


2,725 


7,975 


2,892 


5,221 


1,947 
• 


4,477 


1,661 


3,984 


1,308 


1,880 


963 


1,183 


3,143 


12,751 


1,962 


4,525 


364 


734 


4,498 


10,189 


1,226 


4,716 


1,335 


4,369 


3,197 


10,207 


768 


2,076 



242,108 



Sheep. 



601,284 



3,095 
1,427 
1.435 
2,867 
5,280 
4,121 
7,180 
1,461 
2,059 
6,101 
5,969 
6,653 
9,424 
5,460 
7,033 
1,510 
2,732 
2,270 

691 

339 
7,930 
3,891 

357 
6,434 
2,245 
4,341 
7,401 

436 



378,233 



Hogs. 



3,486 
3,603 
2,644 
7,186 
4,509 
4,482 
4,694 
3,736 
3,112 
6,623 

13,508 
5,080 

12,969 
8,967 
4,825 

13,882 
2,994 
3,004 
5,150 
1,559 
6,345 
2,751 
506 
6,188 
3,783 
6,707 
5,691 
1,493 



498,263 



184 HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 



A BRIEF SUMMARY 

OF THE 

^l^W'i of public Free ^cliool^ iq fcginia 

AND THE MEANS OF ACQUIRING 

A FREE HIGHER EDUCATION, 

.Prepared by the Sup erinttn dent of Public Instruction, at the request of Colonel 

Randolph Harrison, Commissioner of Agriculture of Virginia^ 

for Ms Hand-Book of Virginia.* 



The public free school system of Virginia is rooted in the organic law of the 
State. Article VIII of the constitution outlines definitely and distinctly the essen- 
tial features of the whole system. As this article embraces, with slight exception, 
all the provisions of the constitution relating to public education, it is quoted in 
full. 

ARTICLE VIII— Education. 

Seo. 1. The general assembly shall elect, in joint ballot, within thirty day^ 
after its organization, under this constitution, and every fourth year thereafter, 
a superintendent of public instruction. He shall have the general supervision of 
^ the public free school interest of the State, and shall report to the general assem- 
bly for its consideration, within thirty days after his election, a plan for a uniform 
system of public free schools. 

Sec. 2. There shall be a board of education, composed of the governor, super- 
intendent of public instruction and attorney-general, which shall appoint and 
have power to remove, for cause and upon notice to the incumbents, subject to 
confirmation by the senate, all county superintendents of public free schools. 
This board shall have, regulated by law, the management and investment of all 
school funds, and such supervision of schools of higher grades as the law shall 
provide. 

Sec. 3. The general assembly shall provide by law, at its first session under 
this constitution, a uniform system of public free schools, and for its gradual, 
equal and full introduction into all the counties of the State, by the year 1876, or 
as much earlier as practicable. 



* This paper was originally prepared by my predecessor, Hon. R. R. Farr, at the request of the 
Commissioner of Agriculture, and published In a former edition of the Hand-Book of Virginia. 
In compliance with a similar request, the paper has been revised, such changes and additions 
iiavlng been made as were necessary to bring It up to the date of this edition of the Hand-Book.— 

Jno. L. Buchanan, Superintendent Public Instruction. 



HAND-BOOK OP VIEGINIA. 185 

Seo. 4. The gjeneral as=!embly shall have power, after a full introduction of the 
public free school system, to make such laws as shall not permit parents and 
guardians to allow their children to grow up in ignorance and vagrancy. 

Seo. 5. The general assembly shall establish, as soon as practicable, normal 
schools, and may establish agricultural schools and such grades of schools as 
shall be for the public good. 

Sec. 6. The board of education shall provide for uniformity of text-books and 
the furnishing of school-houses with such apparatus and library as may be neces- 
sary, under such regulations as may be provided by law. 

Seo. 7. The general assembly shall set apart, as a permanent and perpetual lit- 
erary fund, the present literary funds of the State, the proceeds of all public 
lands donated by congress for public s.hool purposes, of all escheated property, 
of all waste and unappropriated lands, of all property accruing to the State by 
forfeiture, and all tines collected for offences committed against the State, and 
such other sums as the general assembly may appropriate. 

Seo. 8. The general assembly shall apply the annual interest on the literary 
fund, the capitation tax provided for by this constitution for public free school 
purposes, and an annual tax upon the property of the State of not less than one 
mill nor more than five mills on the dollar, for the equal benefic of all the people, 
of the State, the number of children between the ages of five and twenty-one 
years, in each public free school district, being the basis of such division. Pro- 
visions shall be made to supply children attending the public free schools with 
necessary text-books in cases where the parent or guardian is unable, by reason 
of poverty, to furnish them. Each county and public free school district may 
raise additional sums by a tax on property for the support of the public free 
schools. All unexpended sums of any one year in an^ public free school district 
shall go into the general school fund for redivision the next year : provided, that 
any tax authorized by this section to be raised by counties or school districts shall 
not exceed five mills on a dollar in any one year, and shall not be subject to a re- 
division, as hereinbefore provided in this section. 

Seo. 9. The general assembly shall have power to foster all higher grades of 
schools under Jts supervision, and to provide for such purpose a permanent educa- 
tional fund. 

Seo. 10. All grants and donations received by the general assembly for educa- 
tional purposes shall be applied according to the terms prescribed by the donors. 

Seo. 11. Each city and county shall be held accountable for the destruction of 
school property that may take place within its limits by incendiaries or open vio- 
lence. 

Seo. 12. The general assembly shall fix the salaries and prescribe the duties of 
all school officers, and shall make all needful laws and regulations to carry into 
effect the public free school system provided for by this article. 

At the time the constitution was ratified, July 6, 1869, members for a general 
assembly were elected, which met the 5th of the following October. Among its 
first acts was the passage of a law providing for a uniform svstem of public free 
schools for the counties. This law was approved July Uth, 1870, (the law pro- 
viding for a system of public free schools in the cities of the (./ommon wealth was 
not passed until the following session, and was approved March 31st, 1871). 

The laws enacted to carry into effect the provisions of the constitution in rela- 
tion to public free schools were full and explicit. The schools were made free to 
all children of the Commonwealth between the ages of five and twenty-one. It 
was provided that the district school trustees required by section 3 of article 7 ot 
12 



186 H AN D-BOOK OF VI RGINI A . 

the constitution should be elected and controlled under said section by the board 
of education. Tliis was amended January 11th, 1877, so as to create a "trustee 
electoral board," to be composed of the county superintendent of schools, county 
judge and attorney for the commonwealth, and this was superseded in February, 
1884, by the law wliich creates in each county in the State a board known as the 
"County Board of School Commissioners," to consist of "three citizens of each 
county in the Commonwealth," to be elected by the general assembly every four 
years, and " to go into office the first day of April succeeding their election, after 
having taken and subscribed the usual oath of office." This board is clothed with 
all the powers and duties of its predecessor. 

Whilst there is nothing in the constitution of the State which prohibits white 
and colored children from being taught in the same schools, the original law, 
which gave force to the constitution, provides that " white and colored children 
shall not be taught in the same school, but in separate schools, under the same 
general regulations as to management, usefulness and efficiency." This provision 
was emphasized by the law being reenacted the 27th of June, 1877, and again the 
26th of January, 1882. 

In brief, the public free school system of Virginia is administered by the fol- 
lowing boards and officers : 

STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION. 

The State Board of Education, consisting of the governor, who is ex-officio 
chairman, the attorney-general, and superintendent of public instruction. At 
this time it is composed of His Excellency Fitzhugh Lee, governor; Hon. R. A. 
Ayres, attorney-general, and John L. Buchanan, superintendent of public in- 
struction. . 

SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIO INSTRUCTION. 

The superintendent of public instruction is elected by the joint vote of the 
general assembly, and holds his office for four years from the 15th day of March 
following his election. He is " the chief executive of the public free school sys- 
tem," and is charged with the duty of seeing that all laws and regulations are 
faithfully executed, and of determining the true intent and meaning of same. 
His duties are numerous and responsible. He is provided with an office and two 
clerks, and is allowed a salary of two thousand dollars per annum, and is required 
to make an annual report to the Board of Education of "his official proceedings 
for the year ending the 31st day of July preceding." 

COUNTY AND CITY SUPERINTENDENTS OF SCHOOLS. 

Every county and city in the State — and some of the towns— has a superintend- 
ent of schools, who is appointed by the Board of Education for a term of four 
years from the first of July following the appointment, " subject to confirmation 
by the Senate." Their salaries are fixed according to the population of their re- 
spective counties and cities, and paid in quarterly instalments out of the State 
school fund. They receive thirty dollars for each thousand of population under 
tlieir respective jurisdictions for the first ten thousand, rejecting fractions less 
than five hundred, and twenty dollars for each one thousand in excess of ten 
thousand up to and including thirty thousand, rejecting fractions of five hundred, 
and so on. 

Superintendents of schools have a general supervision over all the schools ia 



HAND BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 187 

their respective counties, cities and towns, and are required to do all in their 
power to promote the efficiency of the same. They examine and license all 
teachers, apportion the State and county school money among the several school 
districts, and exercise a general supervision over the finances of the school?. All 
teachers of the county or city report to the superintendent monthly and at the 
end of their term ; and it is his receipt for monthly reports that entitles them to 
the warrants of the board of trustees, upon which tliey draw their salaries. Every 
superintendent is required to report to the superintendent of public instruction 
monthly and annually, and to observe such instructions and regulations as he may 
Irom time to time prescribe. 

SCHOOL DISTRICTS. 

The law provides that each school district shall correspond in boundaries with 
the magisterial districts (except when modified in the creation of sub-districts) ; 
"that each district shall be a body corporate ; that it may sue and be sued, con- 
tract and be contracted with ; take, hold and convey property." 

There are 450 districts in the counties of the State, and ten city school boards, 
composed of all the trustees of the respective cities or towns, who are appointed 
by the councils of the same. Each city board constitutes a single corporation, 
vrith the same officers, powers and duties of ordinary boards of district school 
trustees. 

TRUSTEES. 

There are three trustees for each school district, one of them being appointed 
annually by the board of school commissioners. There are 1,350 trustees for the 
districts in the counties, and 102 for the wards in the cities, giving a total of 1,452 
for the State. With the exception of the member who acts as clerk of the district 
board — who may be allowed for his services out of the district fund not exceeding 
two dollars for every day of service rendered within prescribed limits — the mem- 
bers serve without compensation. 

TEACHERS. 

All persons who desire to teach in the public schools are required to be exam- 
ined by and obtain from the superintendent of the county or city, wliere they 
intend to teach, a written certificate of qualification. They are elected by the 
boards of trustees of the respective districts, and are required by law to enter 
into a written contract to faithfully discharge their duties. 

During the school year ending the 31st day of July, 1884, there were employed 
in the State 2,362 white male teachers, 2,421 white female teachers ; 885 colored 
male teachers, and 703 colored female teachers— making a total of 6,371 employed. 
The average salary per month paid teachers for year ending July 31st, 1884, was : 
White males, $30.25 ; females, $26.18. Colored males, $25.77; colored females, 
$23.52. 

^ BRANCHES TAUGHT. 

In every public free school shall be taught orthography, reading, writing, 
arithmetic, grammar, and geography, and by common consent history, and no 
other branches unless the county school board has determined to introduce the 
higher branches ; then the boards of trustees of the districts in such counties, 
with the consent of said board in eacli case, can introduce the higher branches ia 



188 HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 

their respective schools, provided that the introduction of said branches does not 
conflict or interfere with efficient instruction in the elementary English branches. 
Dittrict boards are required to furnish text-books free to children w^hose parents 
or guardian are unable to provide them. 

TEXT-BOOKS. 

A list of text-books is prescribed by the Board of Education, from which the 
county boards adopt such boolts as they may think proper. 

The contracts are made with the publishinij houses for four years, and no book 
not found on the State list can be used in any of the public free schools, nor can 
any book, when adopted, be changed for any other on the same subject until the 
expiration of the four years. 

COUNTY SCHOOL BOARDS, 

In each county there is a county school board, composed of the county superin- 
tendent, who is ex-ofjicio its chairman, and the district trustees of all the districts 
in the county. This board recommends to the board of supervisors the amount of 
money necessary for the county and district school fund for the ensuing year. It 
is also charged with the duty of seeing that the treasurer's accounts and the 
accounts of the district clerks are ^correct, and of instituting suits against all de- 
faulters. 

SCHOOL TAXES 

consists of three classes. First, the amount received from the State under the 
requirements of the constitution, and this now is also divided into two classes — 
viz : the gross amount received annually, which, under the requirements of the 
act approved March 6th, 1883, is left in the hands of the respective treasurers and 
dlibursed on the order of the superintendent of schools. Second, all cash received 
on account of balances due on the annual revenue, on the final settlement of the 
account, the quarterly payment required by the act referred to, to be paid on the 
arrearage account, and the interest on the literary fund. These amounts are all 
paid into the hands of the Second Auditor, to the credit of the State Board of 
Education, and are disbursed in accordance with the requirements of law for the 
support of public free schools upon the order of said board. 

The county school tax is levied by the boards of supervisors, upon the recom- 
mendation of the county school board. It is a general tax upon the people of the 
county, and when collected is apportioned to the respective districts upon the 
basis of school population, as State money is apportioned, and can be used only 
for the pay of teachers. 

The district tax is levied upon the property of the respective districts, and is 
used exclusively in the district where it is collected for building, repairing and 
furnishing school-houses, providing school furniture and apparatus, supplying 
indigent children with text-books, and to pay contingent expenses. 

THE FIKST PUBLIC FREE SCHOOLS 

under the present system were opened about the middle of November, 1870. The 
most of the school-houses and appliances were provided by private means, the 
machinery of levying and collecting the district tax, as it now exists, not ha^g 
been authorized. 



HAND-BOOK OF VIEGINIA. 189 



STATE INSTITUTIONS FOB HIGHER EDUCATION. 

In addition to the instruction in the higher branches, which is given in many of 
the public free schools of the counties, the public high schools of the principal 
cities, such as Richmond — where public free school facilities rank first in the State, 
and which will compare favorably with those of any other city of equal extent in 
the United States — Petersburg, Norfulk, Alexandria, Lynchburg, Staunton and 
most of the towns, such as Fredericksburg, Harrisonburg, Abingdon, and so on, 
furnish ample facilities for acquiring a first-class education. 

Besides these means of 'obtaining a free education, all of the young men in the 
State over 18 years of age, under restrictions in regard to proficiency, are allowed 
to enter the academic department of the University of Virginia free of tuition, 
thus afibrding a rare opportunity to secure the highest education. The University 
is situated at Charlottesville, Albemarle county, and was established in 1825. 

The Virginia Military Institute is situated at Lexington, Va., in the county of 
Rockbridge, and was established in 1S39. 

The Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical college is situated at Blacksburg, in 
Montgomery county, Va., and was opened in 1872. 

These institutions are supported in part by the State, and are free for a selected 
number of male students of proper age and acquirements. 

The Virginia Normal School, at Farmville, was opened in 1 884, and is exclu- 
sively for the education of teachers. It is supported by the State, and is open 
only to young ladies under certain restrictions as to qualification and location. 

The Hampton Normal and Agricultural^ Institute, established at Hampton in 
1868, is for colored youths of both sexes, and receives some assistance from the 
State. 

The Virginia Normal d Collegiate Institute is situated in the county of Ches- 
terfield, opposite the city of Petersburg. It was incorporated in 1882, and the 
normal department opened in October, 1883. It is exclusively for the education 
of the negroes of Virginia of both sexes, and is managed by a board of trustees, 
all of whom are negroes but two, and the act of its corporation requires that the 
president and all the instructors and attaches shall be of that race. 

In addition to these institutions provision is made by the State for the education 
of the mute and blind in an institution at Staunton. 

Prom this brief summary it will be seen that Virginia is alive to the great im- 
portance of education, and has aflForded her children ample opportunities to obtain 
not only a well grounded primary education, through the means of a thorough 
public free school system, but unusual facilities for the higher education frtt in 
the institutions enumerated. 

A careful examin ation of the 'following tables will show that the people are 
alive to their interest, and that never in the history of the State were they sa 
thoroughly awakened to the importance of education as at the present time. 



190 HANDBOOK OP VIRGINIA. 



COUNTY AND CITY SUPERINTENDENTS OF SCHOOLS. 



Term ends June SQth, 1889. 



COUNTY OR CITY. SUPERINTENDENT. POST-OFFICE. 

Accomac John E. Mapp Keller. 

Albemarle , D. P. Power? Scottsville. 

Alexandria city R. L. Carne .Alexandria. 

Alexandria county ...John E. Febrey Falls Church, Fairfax Co. 

Alleghany George B. McCorkle Covington. 

Amelia J. L. T. Holland Amelia C. H. 

Amherst , A. J. Richeson Pedlar Mills. 

Appomattox C. H. Chilton Spout Spring. 

Augusta C. T. Jordan Staunton. 

Bath George W. Simpson Bath Alum. 

Bedford N. D. Hawkins Coffee. 

Bland Davis H. Munsey. Kimberling. 

Botetourt Cary Breckinridge Fincastle. 

Brunswick George R. Blick Smoky Ordinary. 

Buchanan Sparrell Ratliff. Grundy. 

Buckingham W. P. Ellis Moseley. 

Campbell Robert C. Saunders Evington. 

Caroline A. G. Smith Croxtons. 

Carroll W. H. Mitchell HillsviUe. 

Charles City John E. Graves Wilcox Wharfs 

Charlotte H. J. Watkins Mousing Ford. 

Chesterfield W. A. Blankingship Matoaca. 

Clarke W. F. Meade White Post. 

Craig Crockett B. Givens Simmonsville. 

Culpeper Warren E. Coons Ryland. 

Cumberland William C. Corson McRae's. 

Danville Eston Randolph Danville. 

Dickenson I. E. French Clintwood. 

Dinwiddie Eugene C. Powell San Marino. 

Elizabeth City John M. Willis Hampton. 

Essex Edward R. Baird Occupacia. 

Fairfax M. D. Hall Fairfax C. H. 

Fauquier William C. Marshall Warrenton. 

Floyd G. A. Willis Hylton. 



HAND-BOOK OP VIRGINIA. 191 

COUNTY OB CITY. SUPEBINTENDENT. POST-OFFICE. 

Fluvanna James O. Shepherd Palmyra. 

Franklin W. E. Duncan Hale's Ford. 

Frederick Maurice M. Lynch Winchester. 

Fredericksburg J. G. Swartz Fredericksburg. 

Giles D. F. Hale Narrows. 

Gloucester William F. Hogg Hayes' Store. 

Goochland H. D. Ragland Hadensville. 

Grayson W. S. Hale Elk Creek. 

Greene George B. Jennings Ruckersville. 

Greensville W. N. Bell Hicksford. 

Halifax.. Thomas E. Barksdale Whitlock. 

Hanover W. H. Campbell Oliver. 

Henrico John K. Fussell Richmond. 

Henry Wythe M. Peyton Martinsville. 

Highland O. P. Chew Crabbottom. 

Isle of Wight Gavin Rawls Carrsville. 

James City James H. Allen Toano. 

King & Queen John Temple Walkerton. 

King George ,.B. Walter Coakley Edge Hill. 

King William William V. Croxton Manquin. 

Lancaster Frank W. Lewis Litwalton. 

Lee A. M. Coins Jonesville. 

Loudoun L. M. Shumate Leesburg. 

Louisa Frank T. West Trevilians. 

Lunenburg George W. Hardy .Opie, Prince Edward Co. 

Lynchburg E. C. Glass Lynchburg. 

Madison James W. Banks Wolftown. 

Manchester H. A. Maurice Manchester. 

Mathews Thomas B. Lane Port Haywood. 

Mecklenburg Thomas W. Smith Hanford. 

Middlesex R. T. Bland Saluda. 

Montgomery R. B. Richardson Shawsville. 

Nansemond Lee Britt Suifolk. 

Nelson George E. Caskie Lovingston. 

New Kent Oliver F. Taylor Oak. 

Norfolk city..... James Barron Hope Norfolk. 

Norfolk county John T. West Cornland. 

Northampton George R. Mapp Machipongo. 

Northumberland Giles F. Eubank Village. 

Nottoway T. W. Sydnor '. Blackstone. 

Orange William C. Williams Orange C. H. 

Page H. M. Keyser Honeyville. 

Patrick Abram Staples Stuart. 

Petersburg D. M. Brown Petersburg. 

Pittsylvania Lysander H. Pigg Chatham. 

Portsmouth John 0. Ashton Portsmouth. 

Powhatan Carter H. Harrison Vinitaville, Goochland Co. 

Prince Edward L. C. Irving Farmville. 

Prince George J. W. Stephenson Garysville. 

Princess Anne O. B. Mears Kempsville. 



192 HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 

COUNTY OR OITY. SUPERINTENDENT. POST-OFFICE. 

Prince William A. P.Gray Haymarket. 

Pulaski A. H. Jordan Dublin. 

Rappahannock H. M. Miller Washington. 

Richmond city John B. Gary Richmond. 

Richmond county Robert Hall ^ Warsaw. 

Roanoke city William Lunsford Roanoke. 

Roanoke county William M. Graybill Roanoke. 

Rockbridge J. Sidney Saville Lexington. 

Rockingham George H. Hulvey Bridgewater. 

Russell Davis C. Alderson Hawkins' Mills. 

Scott W. D. Smith Estillville. 

Shenandoah Joseph B. Mclnturflf. Strasburg. 

Smyth A. G. Pendleton Marion. 

Southampton James F. Bryant Franklin. 

Spotsylvania Chancellor Bailey Fredericksburg. 

Stafford G. M. Weeden Bellefair Mills. 

Staunton W. W. Robertson Staunton. 

Surry William Dillard Claremont. 

Sussex R. K. Harrison Stony Creek, 

Tazewell H. M. Smythe Pocahontas. 

Warren Gibson E. Roy Front Royal. 

Warwick J. H. Craflford Lee Hall. 

Washington R. P. Carson Abingdon. 

Westmoreland T. Hunter, Jr Maple Grove. 

Williamsburg W. C. Constable Williamsburg. 

Wise J. B. Gilly Big Stone Gap. 

Wythe George R. Huffard Wythevllle. 

York WiUiamH. Sheild Torittown. 



HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 



193 



Number of Schools, Enrolment and Average Daily Attendance of Pupils 
for the Scholastic Year ending July 31, 1885. 





SCHOOLS. 


ENROLMENT. 


Average Daily 
Attendance. 


COUNTIES AND CITIES. 


3 


•a 
<u 

o 

8 


i 

EH 


3 


o 


Eh 


3 


•6 
o 

§ 


>4 




1 


2 


3 


4 


5 


6 


7 


8 


9 


Accomac • • 


64 
77 
17 
4 
36 
20 
57 
27 

162 
26 

100 
38 
68 
33 
39 
46 
49 
35 
81 
8 
30 
42 
22 
33 
37 
23 
13 
45 
25 
34 
12 
20 
52 
61 


I'S 

47 

14 

5 

7 

15 

26 

17 

44 

■ 4 

42 

3 

23 

34 

35 
30 
31 
3 
8 
28 
26 
11 

23 
21 
11 
25 


82 
124 
1 
9 
43 
35 
83 
44 
206 
30 
142 
41 
91 
67 
39 
81 
79 
66 
84 
16 
58 
68 
33 
33 
60 
44 
24 
70 
25 
63 
29 
40 
74 
93 


3,511 
2,768 

917 

241 
1,268 

694 
2,255 
1,062 
5,440 

768 
4,513 
1,444 
2,341 
1,175 
1,074 
1,285 
2,317 
1,133 
4,004 

260 
1,611 
1,608 

922 
1,083 
1,319 

712 

536 
1,754 
1,021 
1,077 

673 

668 
2,452 
2,539 


1,677 

2,460 
762 
421 
298 
910 

1,422 
941 

1,782 
159 

2,311 

73 

915 

2,259 

1,618 

3.010 

1,832 

83 

443 
1,932 
1,252 

489 

1,209 

1,154 

751 

1,944 

1,622 
1,279 
1,212 
1,131 
1.648 


5,188 
5,228 
1,679 

662 
1,566 
1,604 
3,677 
2,003 
7,222 

927 
6,824 
1,517 
3,256 
3,434 
1,074 
2,903 
5,327 
2,965 
4,087 

703 
3,543 
2,860 
1,411 
1,083 
2,528 
1,846 
1,287 
3,698 
1,021 
2,699 
1,952 
1,880 
3,583 
4,187 


1,975 

1,667 
683 
136 
780 
397 

1384 
612 

2,763 
597 

2,558 
841 

1,470 
663 
636 
744 

1,468 
634 

2,047 
148 
806 
983 
484 
783 
799 
467 
319 

1,080 
662 
583 
358 
867 

1,386 

1,350 


700 

1,502 
562 
212 
170 
437 

•853 
489 

1,271 
114 

1,361 
48 
644 
996 

885 
1,016 

890 
53 

216 
1,219 

608 

326 

709 
561 
341 
900 

711 
891 
700 
667 
868 


2,675 


Albemarle..... 


3,169 


Alexandria city 


1,245 
348 


Alexandria county 




950 


Amelia .. ....••....«• 


343 


Amherst 


2,237 


Appomattox 


1,101 


AugTista....... 


4,034 


Bath 


711 


Bedford 


3,919 


Bland 


889 


Botetourt 


2,114 


Brunswick 


1,659 

636 

1,629 


Buchanan 

Buckingham....... 


Campbell 


2,484 


Caroline 


1 574 


Carroll 


2,100 


Charles City 

Charlotte 


364 
2,025 
1,691 


Ghesterlleld 


Clarke 


810 


Craig.. 


788 




1,503 


Cumberland 


1,028 
660 


DanvUle..... 


Danville Diat 


1,989 


Dickenson 


663 


Dinwiddle 


29 
17 
20 
22 
32 


1,294 
1,249 

i.oer 




Essex 


Fauquier; 


2,043 
2,238 



194 



HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 



Number of Schools, Enrolment, etc.— Continued. 





SCHOOLS, 


ENROLMENT. 


AVERAGE Daily 
Attendance. 


COUNTIES AND CITIES. 


1 

'S 


■6 

o 

o 
O 




3 


•a 
£ 

o 
o 


i 

Eh 




-a 

s 

o 


i 




1 


8 


3 


4 


5 


6 


7 


8 


9 


Floyd 


80 
33 
89 
76 

8 
55 
20 
22 
68 
22 
18 
75 
45 
39 
46 
41 
39 

9 
21 
17 
18 
10 
88 
79 
44 
28 
26 
41 

7 

19 
46 
12 
71 
33 
58 


8 

20 

30 

5 

4 

5 

23 

23 

6 

6 

19 

40 

27 

26 

25 

2 

17 

8 

16 

11 

17 

9 

8 

27 

36 

24 

18 

18 

4 

9 

39 

10 

21 

21 

25 


88 
53 

119 
81 
12 
60 
43 
45 
74 
28 
37 

115 
72 
65 
71 
43 
56 
17 
37 
28 
35 
19 
96 

106 
80 
52 
44 
59 
11 
2S 
85 
22 
92 
54 
83 


3,641 

1,094 

3,824 

2,982 

475 

2,685 

840 

801 

3,486 

761 

455 

2,882 

1,591 

1,511 

1,534 

1,357 

1,350 

244 

796 

515 

661 

374 

6,400 

3,477 

1,425 

979 

1,355 

1,382 

465 

860 

1,805 

463 

1,900 

1,207 

1,920 


325 

1,038 

1,477 

139 

330 

134 

1,534 

1,216 

253 

310 

787 

2,722 

1,679 

1,574 

1,173 

66 

710 

371 

913 

828 

1,004 

606 

300 

1,629 

2,029 

1,304 

1,165 

938 

375 

365 

2,732 

751 

600 

1,290 

1,217 


3,966 
2,132 
5,301 
3,121 

805 
2,819 
2,374 
2,017 
3,739 
1,071 
1,242 
5,604 
3,270 
3,085 
2,707 
1,423 
2,060 

615 
1,709 
1,843 
1,665 

980 
5,700 
5,106 
3,454 
2,283 
2,510 
2,320 

840 
1,225 
4,537 
1,214 
2,400 
2,497 
3,137 


2,036 
681 

1,938 

1,808 
401 

1,612 
432 
470 

1,903 
464 
302 

1,497 
790 
944 
763 
868 
840 
138 
421 
253 
401 
199 

4,500 

2,020 
786 
591 
977 
843 
332 
640 
965 
229 

1,323 
717 

1,168 


212 
492 
891 
107 
249 
87 
849 
622 
142 
185 
509 

1,461 
730 

1,045 
631 
42 
440 
194 
440 
289 
563 
207 
220 
887 

1.002 
729 
844 
553 
182 
300 

1,395 
326 
389 
690 
741 


2,248 


Flavanna 


1,173 


Pranklln 


2,82» 


Frederick 

Fredericksburg 

Giles 


1,916 

650 

1,699 


Gloucester 


1,281 


Goochland 


1,092 


Grayson 

Greene 

Greensville 


2,045 
649 
811 


Halifax 


2,95a 


Hanover..., 

Henrico 


1,520 
1,98» 




1,394 


Highland 

Isle of Wight 


910 

1,280 


James City 

King* Queen 

King George 


332 
861 
547 


King William 


964 


Lancaster 


406 


Lee 

Loudoun 


4,720 

2,907 


Louisa 


1,78& 


Lunenburg 

Lynchburg .., 

Madison 


1,320 

1,821 
1,396 


Manchester 


514 


Mathews 


940 


Meckleaburg 


2,360 


Middlesex 


654 


Montgomery 


1,712 


Nansemond 

Nelson 


1,407 
l,909i 



HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 



195 



Number of Schools, Enrolment, etc.— Continued. 



COUNTIES AND CITIES. 



New Kent , 

Norfolk city 

Norfolk county.., 

Northampton 

Northumberland . 

Nottoway 

Orange 

Page 

Patrick 

Petersburg 

Pittsylvania 

Portsmouth 

Powhatan 

Prince Edward . . . 
Prince George.... 
Prince William... 
Princess Anne.... 

Pulaski 

Rappahannock... 
Richmond city.... 
Richmond county 
Roanoke county, . 

Rockbridge 

Rockingham 

Russell 

Scott 

Shenandoah 

Smyth 

Southampton 

SpotsylvanlaJ..... 

Stafford 

Staunton 

Surry 

Sussex 

Tazewell 



SCHOOLS. 



12 
18 
30 
16 
21 
23 
37 
62 
68 
20 
68 
12 

n 

29 
18 
34 
20 
29 
30 

102 
16 
56 
96 

191 
76 
94 

105 
57 
40 
28 
24 
11 
13 
24 
S3 



21 
30 
63 
26 
32 
39 
69 
69 
75 
41 

102 
17 
32 
58 
35 
45 
31 
39 
43 

162 
26 
76 

102 

207 
81 
99 

109 
66 
71 
46 
32 
21 
26 
48 
60 



ENROLMENT. 



323 

1,244 

1,434 

680 

895 

660 

1,246 

2,641 

3,018 

1,269 

3,237 

805 

538 

921 

625 

1,417 

1,001 

1,266 

1,269 

5,113 

783 

2,261 

3,760 

7,417 

3,420 

5,296 

4,815 

2,S06 

1,318 

996 

992 

490 

398 

639 

2,593 



470 
778 

2,597 
721 
640 
930 

1,193 
293 
614 

1,686 

1,943 
469 
859 

1,844 

1,048 
670 
767 
620 
615 

3,172 
538 

1,161 

1,206 
766 
166 
146 
173 
329 

1,956 
744 
335 
611 
866 

1,208 
300 



793 

2,022 
4,031 
1,441 
1,636 
1,690 
2,439 
2,934 
3,532 
2,945 
6,180 
1,274 
1,397 
2,765 
1,673 
2,087 
1,768 
1,786 
1,884 
8,285 
1321 
3,422 
4,966 
8,173 
3,586 
5,442 
4,988 
3,135 
3,274 
1,740 
1,327 
1,001 
1,254 
1,847 
2,893 



Average Daily 
Attendance. 



200 

719 

800 

344 

457 

420 

629 

1,649 

1,404 

867 

1,650 

674 

330 

672 

332 

771 

556 

837 

679 

4,238 

353 

1,399 

2,246 

5,038 

1,940 

2,963 

2,820 

1,591 

806 

754 

636 

374 

232 

412 

1,555 



S 

255 

651 

1,178 
389 
323 
654 
685 
195 
291 

1,190 

1,093 
295 
464 

1,014 
486 
292 
394 
327 
331 

2.760 
286 
662 
738 
480 
119 
117 
106 
201 
866 
448 
178 
412 
387 
674 
179 



196 



HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 



Number of Schools, Enrolment, etc.— Continued. 





schools. 


ENROLMENT. 


Average Daily 
Attendance. 


COUNTIES AND CITIES. 


IB 


•6 

o 

o 
o 


i 


3 


£ 

"3 

o 


,1 


3 


o 
o 

o 


1 




1 


2 


3 


4 


5 


6 


7 


8 


9 


Warren 


30 

6 

109 

18 

2 

8 

29 

61 

12 


7 
5 
20 
14 
2 
3 

18 
10 


37 
11 
129 
32 
4 
11 
29 
74 
22 


1,404 
230 

5,544 
726 
103 
474 

1,848 

2,769 
620 


299 
329 
793 
1,039 
IHO 
224 

575 
912 


1,703 

559 

6,33T 

1,764 

233 

698 

1,848 

3,344 

1,532 


827 
140 

3,112 

411 

45 

350 

921 

1,635 
297 


188 
157 
501 
402 
85 
126 

365 
428 


1,015 


Warwick 


297 


Washington 


3,613 


Westmoreland; 

Williamsburg 


813 
130 


Winchester 


475 


Wise 

Wythe 


921 
2,000 


York 


726 






Totals 


4,653 


1,907 


6,565 


194,235 


109,208 


303,443 


115,626 


60,846 


176,471 





HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 19T 



SUMMARIES FOR 1885. 



The following figures are taken from the last annual report of Hon. R. R. Farr 
for the scholastic year ending July 31, 18S5 : 

SCHOOL POPULATION. 

White 345,022 

Colored 265,249 

Total 610,271 

SCHOOLS. 

Number opened: 

White 4,658 

Colored 1,917 

Total 6,575 

PUPILS. 

Number enrolled : 

White 194,235 

Colored 109,208 

Total 303,443 

Number in average daily attendance : 

White 115,626 

Colored , 60,845 

Total 176,471 

Number studying the higher branches : 

White 8.222 

Colored „ 1,343 

Total 9^564 

Number supplied with text-books at public expense: 

White 5,877 

Colored 3,213 

Total &.0:t 

Percentage of school population enrolled: 

White , . 62 

Colored 45 

Total , 63.5 



1 98 HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 

Percentage of attendance on average monthly enrolment : 

White 76 

Colored 76 



Total 76 

Average age of pupils 11 j'ears. 

Average number of pupils per teacher 46 

Average number of months taught 5.92 

Cost of tuition per month per pupil enrolled $0 60 

Cost of tuition per mouth per pupil in average daily attendance 1 02 

Whole cost of education per month per pupil enrolled 70 

Whole cost of education per month per pupil in average daily attendance, 1 19 

TEACHERS. 

Number of white males 2,441 

Females 2,491 



Number of colored males 910 

Females 751 



4,932 
1,€61 



Total number of teachers 6,593 

Average monthly salaries : 

Males $31 00 

Females 26 88 

SCHOOL HOUSES. 

Number owned by districts 3,873 

Number built during the year 330 

Value of school property owned by districts $1,819,256 83 

Cost of the system for all purposes to all sources for the year, including balance 
<Jue for the year : 

For current expenses. 

For pay of teachers $1,060,620 96 

For pay of superintendents..- 43,039 96 

For treasurers 30,324 01 

For rent, fuel and lights 47,011 36 

For pay of district clerks 20,491 12 

For books for indigent children 6,050 35 

For insurance 2,078 15 

For expenses of boards of school commissioners 3,489 30 

For other contingent expenses 27,375 01 

For "Educational Journal" 640 00 

For expenses of central office 8,373 07 

$1,249,493 89 
For permanent improvements. 

For real estate, buildings, furniture and repairs $170,171 86 

For school apparatus , 4,865 94 

Total $1,424,531 69 



HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 199 



TEXT-BOOKS. 



The Board of Education has adopted the following list of text-books for use in 
the public schools of the State for a term of four years, beginning August 1, 1886. 

The agreement with the publishers of the books adopted is, that they will pro- 
vide a supply of books in each county in which they are used, suffi,cient for the 
use of the schools thereof, at a cost to the pupils not to exceed the present whole- 
sale price. 

The policy adopted by the Board of Education does not necessitate changes of 
text-books in any county or city of the State, but leaves the question to be deter- 
mined by the county and city school boards. Counties and cities having other 
books than those on the prescribed list, can continue in use any one or every one 
of the books they now have, or they can change any one or every one of them at 
any time during the next four years. But all changes must be to the books 
adopted by the Board of Education. Where no change is desired, no action on 
the part of the county or city board is necessary, as the books now in use will be 
continued until displaced by the adaption of other books. 

books adopted. 
Publishers. 

/. P. Bell 8r Co., Lynchburg, Va.: 
Magill's History of Virginia. 

Houghton, Mifflin 8f Co., Boston : 
Cooke's Virginia [for supplementary reading]. 

J, B. Lippincott fy Co., Philadelphia : 
Worcester's Primary Dictionary. 
Worcester's New School Dictionary. 
Worcester's Comprehensive Dictionary. 
Worcester's Academic Dictionary. 

A. Lovell 8c Co., New York city : 
Graphic Copy Books (large). 
Graphic Copy Books (small). 

University Publishing Co., New York city : 
Venable's First Lessons in Numbers. 
Venable's Intermediate Arithmetic. 
Venable's Mental Arithmetic. 
Venable's Practical Arithmetic. 
Holmes' New History of United States. 



200 HAND-BOOK OF VIRGINIA. 

Maury's Elementary Geography. 
Maury's Revised Manual of Geography. 
Maury's Revised Physical Geography. 

Van Antwerp, Bragg Sf Co.j Cincinnati : 
MoGuffey's Revised Primer. 
McGuftey's Revised First Reader. 
McGuffey's Revised Second Reader. 
McGuffey's Revised Third Reader. 
McGulfey's Revised Fourth Reader. 
McGuffey's Revised Fifth Reader. 
McGuffey's Revised Sixth Reader. 
McGuffey's Revised Speller. 
Harvey's Revised Elementary Grammar. 
Harvey's Revised English Grammar. • * 

Note. — School Officers will bear in mind that while uo requirement is made 
that cities or counties shall change the text-bool^s previously adopted and in use, 
all text books which shall be adopted at any time within the ensuing four years 
in place of those now in use, shall be taken from the list above prescribed. This 
provision for gradual changes of text-books through a period of four years accord- 
ing as such changes may be deemed expedient, will, it is believed, reduce to a 
minimum the inconvenience to the schools and the expense to the people. 



u:ie iz 



